Peru on Monday approved a loan request of up to $2 billion from international banks for the national oil company Petroperú, to guarantee fuel distribution in the country, the government announced.
Petroperú has been facing financial difficulties for several years. The main Peruvian public company, it specializes in the transport, refining, distribution and marketing of oil and its derivatives.
The Peruvian Prime Minister, Luis Arroyo, assured that the funds would come exclusively from international private banks and not from the state, thus denying that it was a public rescue.
“We have approved a new model to guarantee the continuity of Petroperú’s operations and ensure the supply of fuel nationally,” Arroyo said at a press conference.
Created in 1969, Petroperú grants operating concessions to private companies. No government has attempted to privatize it until now, for fear of social reactions.
Peru is an oil importer, with a small production of around 45,000 barrels per day, for a demand of more than 250,000 barrels.
In December 2023, the company relaunched its refinery, closed for more than four years for modernization.
Work on Peru’s largest refinery, located in Talara (north), was initially expected to cost $3.5 billion, but the final cost exceeded $5 billion.
The plant currently refines around 95,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 60,000 before this work.
