Peru
to keep Camisea lines operating despite breaks: official
Platts
LIMA
Petroleumworld.com
03 11 06
Peru's
Energy and Mines Ministry has no plans to halt the operation of
Camisea natural gas project pipelines despite of five breaks on
the liquids
line since the project came online in August 2004, a ministry
official said
Friday.
"We are not in favor of halting the transport
system," Vice Energy
Minister Juan Cayo told foreign journalists. If the lines were
shut, he added,
Peru's Cusco region would lose royalties, and power plants and
industrial
clients that had earlier switched their fuel supplies to natural
gas, would
lack supplies.
Juan Valdivia, head of the Peruvian Congress'
Energy and Mines
Commission, had called this week for a halt to pipeline operations
to avoid
further ruptures.
Pumping in both pipelines is suspended following
a break Saturday, which
spilled around 4,700 barrels of natural gas liquids.
Cayo said the Camisea project has been closely
supervised and audited
during the construction phase and 18 months of operation, adding
that he had
no reason to believe that there were irregularities in the process.
"There are few projects in the world subject
to as much scrutiny as
Camisea," Cayo said. "The construction standards were
verified. Until someone
shows proof to the contrary, we are assuming that the pipelines
were
well-built."
Cayo estimated that an audit of pipeline integrity,
to be called soon by
the Peruvian government, would not be completed before the end
of the year.
US-based environmental groups, which have opposed
the project because of
its potential impact on the Amazon Rainforest, have stepped up
their criticism
in recent weeks following the ruptures. Cayo said the government
is aware that
criticism by these groups could affect the second stage of the
project, which
involves converting gas to liquefied natural gas for export to
Mexico.
The $1.6-bil Camisea, one of Peru's largest infrastructure
projects, in February produced 80,720 Mcf/d of natural gas for
domestic
consumption and 35,737 b/d of associated liquids for consumption
and export,
according to government statistics.
--Mary Powers, newsdesk@platts.com
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PLATTS
03 10 06
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