RIL inks pact with Peru's Perupetro

Reliance Industries has signed an agreement with Peru's Perupetro to jointly explore for oil and gas in the Andean country, the president of Peru's state-run firm has said.

"We'll be formalising the agreements reached these past weeks, and in the coming days we will provide details of the joint exploration venture in areas that hold oil and gas potential," Cesar Gutierrez told Peru's official Andina news agency on Monday.

The two firms are likely to bid in Peruvian government auction of 22 blocks with hydrocarbon potential, he said, adding that the auction was scheduled to open in September.

Earlier this year, Reliance acquired 90 per cent stake in an oil block in the Andean region of Puno in Peru from Irisn company Pan Andean Resources.

Reliance Industries CEO and President (Oil and Gas) P M S Prasad had on April 30 told PTI that his company had signed an agreement to take 90 per cent in Block 141. Pan Andean will hold the remaining 10 per cent in the block.

Gutierrez said Reliance had an aggressive expansion plan in Peru, which it believes holds great potential in hydrocarbon deposits.

Between March and June, Reliance drilled in three potential oil fields in the Peruvian jungle and in April bought drilling rights in area 141, near Lake Titicaca, in an agreement with Ireland's Pan Andean Resources.

As part of the deal with Pan Andean, Reliance will incur all exploration costs through commercial discovery. Following a commercial find of an agreed size, Pan Andean will reimburse Reliance for its share of the exploration cost.

Prasad had stated that Reliance was looking at oil blocks in Latin America particularly in the heavy oil belt. In the Peru block, drilling and other work may exceed $40 million in expenditure.