Petroperú: Comptroller’s Office detected losses of more than S/3.6 million due to deficiencies in service management

The Comptroller General of the Republic announced the results of three control reports carried out on the company Petroperú. According to the agency, there is an economic loss of S/3 million 615,091 due to a series of deficiencies in the management of services contracted by the state oil company, which has led to the determination of alleged civil and/or administrative liability in eight of its employees.

The control reports refer to negligence in the collapsed structures at Station 1 of the Norperuano (ONP) oil pipeline, located in the Loreto region, the maintenance of the furnace at the Talara Refinery (Piura), as well as the transportation of hydrocarbons between Pucallpa (Ucayali) and the Iquitos refinery (Loreto). Due to these events, the Comptroller’s Office recommended that the head of Petroperú take the actions that allow the competent body to determine the responsibilities of those involved.

Collapsed structures in the North Peruvian Oil Pipeline

According to the report of the Specific Control Service for Facts with Alleged Irregularity No. 020-2024-2-0084, corresponding to the evaluation period from April 2016 to September 2018, riverbank restoration and sand filling services were contracted at Station 1 of the North Peruvian Oil Pipeline (ONP)which is located in the Loreto region, for the sums of S/ 1 million 920,803.11 and S/ 593,273.50, respectively.

These services were requested due to a breakdown reported in 2016 by the Station Supervisor, since the bank of the Marañón River had eroded, putting the ONP infrastructure at risk. Despite the work carried out, the constructed metal structure collapsed on July 4, 2018, causing an economic loss for Petroperú of S/ 2 million 514,076.61. In this regard, a control commission inspected the area involved on April 22 and 23, 2024 and confirmed that the aforementioned metal structure with piles and steel plates had collapsed.

In this way, the Comptroller’s report establishes that Petroperú did not correctly prepare and determine the requirement for the riverbank restoration service by not considering technical aspects such as the loads on the metal structure, the soil mechanics study, the physical mechanical condition of the pipes used as piles and the depth of their driving, which does not comply with the provisions of Petroperú’s Acquisition and Contracting Regulations and the standards of the National Building Regulations, thus causing the metal structure to fall into the Marañón River.

Finally, the The Comptroller’s Office identified alleged civil liability in two officials of the state company, and recommended that the head of Petroperú, through the bodies that exercise legal representation for the legal defense of the interests of the State, initiate civil actions against those involved in irregular acts, in order to determine the corresponding responsibilities.

Talara Refinery (Piura)

The report of the Specific Control Service for Alleged Irregular Events No. 018-2024-2-0084, whose evaluation period was from December 31, 2015 to July 23, 2021, showed that an economic loss of S/ 264,987.00 was caused to Petroperú due to the higher payment of Income Tax for the 2017 taxable year, which led to the determination of alleged civil liability in two officials of the state-owned company.

This situation was caused by the negligence of Petroperú officials in not ensuring that the capitalization of the Major Maintenance of the Processing Furnace – Asset No. 204733-10 “XIII General Inspection UDP – Treatment Plant”, located at the Talara Refinery (Piura), was carried out in December 2015 with a useful life of five years, but rather it was carried out with a useful life of 15 years, which did not comply with the applicable regulations.

The above situation was corrected on August 21, 2017 in the ERP-SAP System, generating a depreciation expense of S/ 898,261 that was not considered deductible for the calculation of net income for the 2017 taxable year. This expense was related to previous years (December 2015 and January to December 2016), where this concept was included to determine the taxable net income. As a consequence, there was an increase in the income tax payment of S/ 264,987.

Transport of hydrocarbons between Pucallpa (Ucayali) and the Iquitos refinery (Loreto)

In the case of the Specific Control Service report for Facts with Alleged Irregularity No. 015-2024-2-0084, whose evaluation period was from December 20, 2022 to August 28, 2023, it analyzed the execution of the comprehensive river operations service for loading and unloading hydrocarbons in Pucallpa (Ucayali) by a private logistics company.

For approximately eight months and eight days, 58 shipments were made between the private operator’s port in Pucallpa and the Iquitos Refinery, which belongs to Petroperú in Loreto. As a result, an economic loss of S/ 836,027.78 was determined due to the failure to debit the private operator for the excess over the Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) due to volumetric variations in 24 shipments, totaling 1922.29 barrels.

Despite this, at the end of the service the amount to be debited from the contractor was not established, but the service provided was approved, the guarantee letters were returned and the invoices were paid without guarantee to protect the interests of Petroperú.

Due to these events, the Comptroller’s report found alleged civil and administrative liability in four officials of the state oil company and recommended that the head of Petroperú take the necessary actions so that the competent body can determine the corresponding responsibilities of those involved. Finally, it was proposed that through the agencies in charge of legal representation for the defense of the interests of the State, civil actions be initiated against the officials involved in the irregularities.