Energy

The development of Peru’s energy market has been rife with challenges and opportunities in recent years. While Peru could once stake a claim to being South America’s largest commercial producer of oil, fuel output has been on a steady decline for more than two decades, the country accounted for 1.8% of regional oil output in 2017. However, the same shifts that have undermined Peruvian petroleum – namely, technological breakthroughs in the extraction and distribution of natural gas, and innovations in renewable energy – have created new markets in a country abounding with natural gas and vast resources in solar, wind and biomass. Policymakers and investors intent on securing Peru’s energy future are looking to split the difference between these trends. Proposed amendments to the hydrocarbons law could double petroleum production and help to make up the shortfall in domestic supply. This chapter contains an interview with Jorge Olazábal, General Manager, Cálidda.