The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) has announced its plans to revive the Southwest natural gas distribution concession, which encompasses the regions of Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna. The aim is to connect more users in 2023.
Since the commencement of the Camisea operation in 2004, the southern regions of Peru have awaited the arrival of natural gas. Although the Southwest concession was launched in 2017, the construction of natural gas networks and the connection of new users came to a halt in 2020.
Currently, Petroperú operates the concession and has built 395.45 kilometers of networks, serving 12,846 homes. Of these, 510 are in Moquegua, 693 in Ilo, 9,186 in Arequipa, and 2,457 in Tacna.
To expand these figures, MINEM has drawn up a Specific Investment Agreement with the approval of Petroperú. This agreement will enable the construction of 350 kilometers of distribution networks to begin this year and connect more than 22,000 users to natural gas.
In addition to connecting thousands of homes in Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna, the construction of networks will facilitate the conversion of 1,100 vehicles to CNG in each of these three regions and promote widespread use of natural gas in Peru.
To date, MINEM has been engaging with the relevant authorities and the Regional Governments to achieve a direct and continuous dialogue that contributes to the acceleration of project development.
Source: MINEM