Hunt Oil confident of major natural gas in Peru's Lot 76

The Peruvian general manager of US company Hunt Oil said he expects major natural gas reserves to be found in Peru's Lot 76.

Previously Peru's government agency for hydrocarbon licensing, Perupetro, said Lot 76 in southern Peru could hold potential natural gas reserves of about 11 trillion cubic feet, but Hunt Oil has so far refused to confirm that estimate.

However, outgoing Hunt Oil general manager Carlos del Solar, said Lot 76 could be "another Camisea", a reference to Peru's biggest gas field currently in production, according to Dow Jones Newswire.

"We are sure of finding more gas," Del Solar was quoted as saying by newspaper El Comercio.

"Hunt has Lot 76 in Madre de Dios near where Mobil drilled a well called Candamo and discovered gas. We have done seismic studies and see them as very interesting. It could be another Camisea."

Although the size of Camisea's natural gas reserves are a matter of dispute in Peru, with estimates ranging from highs of about 18 tcf to lows of 8.8 tcf, the comparison shows further confidence in the block's reserves.

As of the first of January the 70-year-old del Solar is to be replaced by Barbara Bruce, the current director of Peru's natural gas export consortium Peru LNG.

Demand for natural gas has increased sharply in Peru since the Camisea fields went onstream in mid-2004, while domestic pipeline infrastructure has lagged.

Hunt Oil, Dallas, has a 50% participation in the Peru LNG natural gas export consortium, while Spain's Repsol has a 20% participation.

Repsol has signed a take-or-pay contract for Peru LNG's total natural gas output over the next 18 years, estimated at 4.2 trillion cubic feet. South Korea's SK Energy holds a 20% stake in the Peru LNG consortium while Japan's Marubeni Corp. has a 10% stake.

Hunt Oil and Repsol are also both members of the Camisea natural gas production consortium, which has the rights to Lots 56 and 88 in the Camisea gas fields.

The consortium is led by Pluspetrol Peru Corp. SA with a 27% stake, said del Solar, while Hunt Oil has a 25% stake. Other stake holders include SK; Tecpetrol, a unit of Argentina's Techint Group, and Algeria's Sonatrach Petroleum Corp. (Andina)

Machu Picchu’s centenary celebration to be viewed by 500 million people

The centennial celebration of the discovery of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco will be viewed by at least 500 million people around the world, the head of Peru's National Tourism Chamber (Canatur), Carlos Canales, said Wednesday.

The ceremony, which will be held on July 7th 2011 in the Incan citadel will be broadcast via satellite.

Canales detailed that Peruvian Nobel Prize laureate Mario Vargas Llosa will open the centennial ceremony.

The program includes greetings to special guests such as Peru’s President Alan Garcia, the Heads of State of the other six wonders of the world and Cusco’s governor and mayor.

Furthermore, 250 journalists from around the world and 250 entrepreneurs (100 international businessmen and 100 related to the tourism sector) will also attend the event.

Canales added that ten of Bingham’s grandchildren have also been invited. “They are really motivated as it is an important event, something that has made history and they want to be part of it”. (Andina)

Peru’s Juan Diego Florez to sing at Machu Picchu’s centenary

Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez will sing at the archaeological park of Machu Picchu as part of the centennial celebrations commemorating the scientific discovery of the Inca citadel, Culture Minister Juan Ossio announced Tuesday.

The concert to take place during Easter will be offered only to the national and international press, in order to promote the historic sanctuary.

“The idea is to bring international journalists and through them make Machu Picchu known as cultural heritage of humanity and new wonder of the world. Celebrations must be over the top.”

Ossio did not rule out the participation of other national or international artists at the celebrations, of which main date will be on July next year.

According to the Regional Culture Director of Cusco Juan Julio Garcia, the concert of Florez will be held on April 8. (Andina)

Peru eyes advanced FTA talks with four countries by mid-2011

The current Peruvian government is confident of making further good progress in negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) with South Africa, India, Morocco and Russia before the end of President Alan Garcia's term in office in July 2011.

"FTAs already signed by Peru in addition to those currently being negotiated change our outlook of foreign trade and integration with the world significantly," Minister of Economy and Finance Ismael Benavides said.

By the end of this government, 95 percent of Peru's international trade will be with countries that have signed a FTA, he told Andina news agency.

Next year, the Early Harvest Protocol of the Partial Agreement for Bilateral Preferences negotiated with Thailand as well as the agreement with countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) will take effect.

Meanwhile, FTAs with Central America, Mexico and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) are in the process of negotiation. (Andina)

Peru, Korea FTA could come into force in first half 2011

Peru-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could come into force in the first half of 2011 as both countries have completed the legal review of the FTA text, said Wednesday Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Eduardo Ferreyros.

“The legal revision of the FTA with Korea is over, we are now analyzing both language versions, Korean and Spanish, this process should end in the next few months. So we expect this agreement will come into force in the first half next year,” he said.

By the middle of November, the Foreign Trade ministers from Peru and Korea signed in Seoul an agreement formalizing the conclusion of FTA negotiations.

In addition, Ferreyros said that the legal review process of the Peru-Japan FTA is progressing as expected as negotiations concluded last month.

“In this case, we can progress faster as we have been working on the Japanese and Spanish versions at the same time. We had all the team working on this,” he said.

Minister Ferreyros said he is confident that both trade agreements would come into force at the beginning of the first half 2011. (Andina)

Peru part of winning group on strong economic performance

Peru has been considered one of the winning countries in 2010 after posting one of the strongest growth rates in the world, according to the alst report of Argentina’s consulting firm Abeceb.

The winning group is led by China, which registered a 10.5 percent growth rate, followed by India, with 9.7 percent. The report also includes Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Brazil.

Peru's 2010 GDP growth rate will be 8.79 percent, according to Peru’s Central Reserve Bank (BCR).

International financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) have praised Peru’s economic expansion and have named it as one of the most important in the region.

Abeceb’s report further detailed that the recent international economic crisis was originated in the developed world and, even if its impact reached every country, the recovery was not the same in the different regions. (Andina)

Peruvian produce exports to increase

The Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex) has announced in a statement that national exports are on course to increase to US$34bn in 2010, up 26.7 per cent in value against 2009 and 11.2 per cent higher than 2008.

Of the total, primary exports will account for 77 per cent of the result (or US$26bn), with the remaining 23 per cent (US$7.7bn) represented by sendings of added-value, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

In the added-value/ non-traditional category, Adex estimates Peru’s agricultural exports are expected to reach US$2.2bn in value in 2010, freshinfo.com reported.

This growth will come mainly on the back of vegetable sendings (primarily asparagus) and also the growth in shipments of fruits such as mangoes, avocados and table grape, Adex said. (Andina)

Peru investments total US$ 40.46 billion in 2010-12

Investment projects planned in Peru will total over 40.46 billion US dollars during the 2010-2012 period, according to Central Reserve Bank (BCR) President Julio Velarde.

Velarde said the amount has increased 2.8 billion dollars since BCR's Inflation Report in September 2010.

He noted that the bulk of investments will be made in 2012, when they reach 14.09 billion, mostly in the mining (7.51 billion) and hidrocarbons (2.18 billion) sectors.

"For this year, proposed investment projects worth US$ 12.7 billion will be developed in different sectors such as mining (3.47 billion), hidrocarbons (2.44 billion) and infrastructure ($ 2.43 billion)," he said.

In 2011, proposed investments will total US$ 13.65 billion, with a strong emphasis on traditional sectors such as mining and hydrocarbons, he added.

Velarde said that the figures are based on the information provided by private companies, and mentioned that other 'unconfirmed' investments will push the total amount to over US$ 59 billion in the 2010-12 period. (Andina)

Peru’s GDP increased 9% in November

Economic indicators for November 2010 suggest that Peru’s GDP growth rate may have reached nine percent, higher than October (8.31 percent), said Thursday BBVA Banco Continental.

“We estimate that Peru's GDP growth in November has been somewhere around nine percent, matching our forecast that the year will close at least with an 8.5 percent growth”, mentioned BBVA in the report about Peru’s GDP in October 2010.

The research said this increase is supported on the domestic consumption of cement which increased 22.9 percent in November compared to the amount registered in October of 10.7 percent.

Furthermore, electricity increased to a similar rate compared to the previous month (nine percent).

The economic activity is still high even though October showed its lowest expansion rate in the last seven months (8.31), detailed the report. (Andina)

Ancient citadel, metal artifact found in northern Peru

Rangers at the Cordillera de Colan Reserved Zone in Amazonas, northern Peru, have found what is believed to be an Inca citadel as well as some stone and metal artifacts during a routine patrolling in the Cajaruro district.

Biologist Leyda Gueiler said the metal artifact (pictured) seems to be a war shield while the stone ornaments were carved into the shape of leaves.

"This well preserved artifact is strong evidence that the ancient cultures in Amazonas did develop metalsmithing," said Gueiler.

As for the likely discovery of a citadel that dates back to Inca times, she said a team of archaeologists is to arrive in the area to examine the ruins which are still covered with vegetation.

The head of Cordillera de Colan Reserved Zone, Cesar Bartra, announced that the Regional Directorate of Culture in Chachapoyas has already been informed about these discoveries. (Andina)

Vargas Llosa thinks he's living a dreaming

Nobel Literature Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa said he's confused without knowing whether he's awake or he's still dreaming, at his speech at the traditional banquet hosted by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, after the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm.

The Peruvian writer said he was a story teller and as such he was going to tell all the guests a story, comparing his life with that of a five-year child, who changed his life when he learned how to read and write.

“He’s still there, confused, not knowing whether he’s dreaming or he’s awake, if what he’s living is truth or a lie, if what happens to him is life or literature, because the boundaries between both of them seem to have completely eclipsed", Vargas Llosa said referring to himself.

“Thanks to the adventure books he used to read, he discovered a way to escape from the poor house, the poor country and poor reality he lived, and to travel to wonderful places, with wonderful human beings and amazing things where every day, every night, means a more intense, adventurous and new to enjoy life”. (Andina)

Vargas Llosa, an epic poet of not only Latin American stature

  

Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa is an epic poet of not only Latin American stature, and is hard to classify as he's a citizen of the world, said Thursday Per Wästberg, Swedish writer, member of the Swedish Academy and Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature.

"He's an epic poet and historian, a satirist, an eroticist, an essayist and columnist addressing most issues, including football and fear of flying. As a reporter from the world’s flashpoints, he recalls Graham Greene," he said during his presentation speech at the Nobel Prize award ceremony,

"From the provincial city of Arequipa in Peru emerged: a citizen of the world, a Marxist transformed by Castro’s misdeeds into a liberal, a losing presidential candidate later to appear on his country’s postage stamps," he said.

Wastberg stated Vargas Llosa has led through unfamiliar milieux with an authority that lends the authenticity of a 19th-century explorer.

The Peruvian-born writer uses fiction to penetrate the shrouds of power and explore the obsessions of its exploiters.

"The halls of boarding schools and the corridors of administrations stand against indomitable open-air inhabitants, though the latter seldom triumph in defying regulation and imposition. History crushes Vargas Llosa’s figures but not their consciences," he said.

Vargas Llosa has an eye for the foolishness of innocence and the lethargy of evil. He is unusual in his ability to depict men’s friendship as well as sadistic penalism and hierarchical vanity. He prefers the compromises of common sense to radical utopias.

The Swedish writer said Vargas Llosa writes of love and its absence, of seduction of violence and the rare triumph of justice. In his erotic entertainments he is a playful ruffian unafraid of self-mockery.

The Nobel Laureate believes in the force of literature. Without literature there would be no rendition of mankind’s possibilities and hidden places.

"It is a bulwark against prejudice, racism and intolerant nationalism, since in all great literature, men and women of the entire world are equally alive. It is harder to suppress a people that reads a lot".

Finally, Wästberg said the Swedish Academy congratulated Vargas Llosa as his history resumes 20th century history.

"My dear Mario Vargas Llosa, you have encapsulated 20th-century history in a bubble of imagination. It has floated on air for 50 years and shines still. The Swedish Academy congratulates you. Please step forward to receive this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature from the hand of His Majesty the King," he concluded. (Andina)

Peru's tourist destinations to be showcased in USTOA 2010

Peru’s Export and Tourism Promotion Board (Promperu) will promote Peruvian tourist destinations in the negotiation round of the US Tour Operators Association 2010 (USTOA) to be held in New Orleans, Lousiana, from December 10th to 12th.

Since 1972, the USTOA represents American tour operators interests as its members trade the most tourist packages in the United States.

Promperu aims to promote the image of Peru as a tourist destination, placing Peruvian tourist circuits on top of the participating tourist operators' portfolios.

To include Peruvian tourist destinations in the portfolio of tour operators will enable to strengthen promotion campaigns in the US market, said a supreme resolution from Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur) published today. (Andina)

Trans-Pacific Partnership talks underway in New Zealand

An Asia-Pacific region trade agreement or Trans-Pacific Partnership would not be a "Brussels-type" free-trade document with a single model for trade harmonisation, says New Zealand's chief negotiator.

Mark Sinclair told media on the first day of five-day talks in Auckland between nine countries that are negotiating the TPP, that the goal for the Auckland talks is to make maximum progress on "substance".

It is the fourth round of negotiations for a proposed trade alliance between New Zealand, Australia, the U.S., Chile, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Peru.

The majority of the 330 negotiators are now working on the text, and the aim is to finish the week with well-developed text in most areas, Sinclair said.

"I expect the model we follow will be different to a Brussels type, where there is one model for harmonisation. That is not the way we do things in this region."

Five more rounds of talks are scheduled for next year.

According to BusinessDay.co.nz, the TPP proposal has been labelled a "new generation" agreement, which reflects the increasing complexity of doing business between countries. (Andina)

Peru’s table grape exports to Russia more than triple in 2009-10

Russia has become the fourth-largest destination for Peruvian table grape exports since shipments began arriving there in the 2005-06 season, according to agriculture news website.

In the 2009-10 season, 6,600 metric tons of table grapes were sent to Russia, an increase of 238.2% from the same period last year, when shipments reached 1,900 MT, the website said.

In terms of value, grape exports to Russia are valued at US $13.5 million in 2009-10, an increase of 285.8% over last year, which posted a value of US $3.5 million.

The export volume has surprised growers, said Fernando Cillóniz, president of fruit consultancy Inform@ccion.

“Russia is among the biggest emerging nations that are consuming primary materials and food, making our economy more dynamic,” he is quoted as saying.

According to a freshfruitportal.com report, he said Peruvian growers are already seeing results from the World Food of Moscow expo held in September.  The city, with 14 million people, distributes 70% of fresh products to different points throughout the country, the website said. (Andina)

Foreign investors interested in buying properties in Lima and northern Peru

Foreign investors are highly interested in buying properties near the sea, in downtown Lima and in the city of Trujillo (La Libertad), reported Peru Sotheby’s International Realty.

Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates from the United Kingdom announced in November its entry into the Peruvian market signing an exclusive 25-year contract of master franchise with Nella Ponce Realty Peru, aimed at developing its trademark in Peru.

Peru Sotheby's International Realty Manager Nella Ponce said foreign buyers have shown a great interest in buying real state in Peru days before Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates started to operate as a franchise.

The real estate company has around 30 properties, among houses, apartments, lands and business offices. It has operations in Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo and Cusco.

It also rents and sales other 1,000 properties that many agents are currently offering in Peru. (Andina)

Spanish companies to increase investment in Peru next year

Peru has been ranked among the four most preferred Latin American markets for Spanish businessmen, according to the 4th report issued by IE Business School, a Spanish business school based in Madrid.

The report, which was released on Wednesday, shows the results of a survey of 24 companies with interests in Latin America.

According to the report, 50 percent of the Spanish companies plan to increase their investment in Peru in 2011, 33 percent intend to maintain them and four percent plan to decrease their level of investment.

Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru are the preferred markets for Spanish businessmen, while Venezuela and Argentina are the two countries with "more threats and risks" to invest.

According to the data issued by the report, Latin America has strongly emerged in the global economic landscape. (Andina)