Perenco secures clearance for US$359mn pipeline project

The energy environmental affairs department (DGAAE) of Peru's energy and mines ministry has approved Perenco's EIS for a US$359mn, 207km pipeline project. In a resolution, DGAEE said the document has the appropriate measure to mitigate environmental impacts generated by the 207km project. Perenco submitted the EIS in June 2009 for the pipeline, which will take block 67 production from the Curaray crude processing plant to state oil company Petroperú's Andoas station for subsequent transport to the Bayóvar terminal on the Pacific. The project also includes a 31km pipeline to transport light hydrocarbons from the Andoas station to the crude processing plant. The 20-inch main pipeline will cost US$245mn and US$100mn for the 10-inch parallel line. Block 67 covers 101,931ha in the Marañón basin and includes oil fields Paiche, Dorado and Piraña, which hold reserves of more than 300Mb. Perenco has budgeted the block's development phase at US$1.59bn. Initial production, is penciled in to begin in the third quarter of 2013 and peak output is estimated at 100,000b/d. In Peru, the company also holds a stake in block 121.