Peru says Brazil's Petrobras makes major gas find

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Published: November 5, 2009

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Brazil's state-run Petrobras energy company has found at least 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the jungle of Peru, enough to ensure this Andean country's gas supply through 2050, Peruvian President Alan Garcia said Thursday.

Garcia said Peruvian state oil officials estimate there are up to 5 trillion cubic feet of gas in Petrobras' Lot 58 in central Cuzco province. Final confirmation is still pending.

No one at the Lima offices of Petroleo Brasileiro SA was available to comment.

Petrobras' Lot 58 is adjacent to the huge Camisea natural gas fields operated by international consortium headed by Argentina's Pluspetrol SA and Texas-based Hunt Oil Co.

The companies say natural gas reserves total 14.1 trillion cubic feet in two Camisea lots, though an independent auditor has certified only 8.8 trillion cubic feet as ready for production.

Peru has opened up 75 percent of its Amazon jungle to exploration in a push to become a net oil and gas exporter. Environmentalists have criticized the plan, and dozens of Amazon Indian group oppose energy development on their lands.

In June, at least 33 people were killed when Peruvian police broke up a roadblock by Indians protesting government-promoted oil and gas and mining exploration on their lands.