• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 3 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 5 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 7 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 5 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 20 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin

Jeremy is a frequent commentator and writer on Latin American and energy issues speaking at international conferences and appearing in both print and broadcast media.…

More Info

Premium Content

Camisea At 10 – Lessons For Energy Projects In The Western Hemisphere

In August 2004, Peru’s then-president, Alejandro Toledo, inaugurated the long-awaited Camisea project. Named for the river adjacent to the natural gas reserves now being piped more than 700 kilometers from the Peruvian Amazon Basin to Peru’s capital Lima, Camisea ushered in a new era for the nation. On the occasion of the project’s launch and arrival of natural gas to Lima, President Toledo proclaimed: “Thanks to Camisea, Peru will go from being an energy importer to a country that exports energy overseas.”

Politicians often make bold pronouncements whenever they inaugurate major infrastructure projects. However, in this case, and with the advantage of ten years of hindsight, it seems clear that President Toledo may have underestimated what Camisea would mean for Peru. And not just in economic terms, but also the critical lessons for energy projects, particularly with regards to balancing environmental and community elements.

It is hard to overstate the importance of Camisea. The project has completely revamped Peru’s energy matrix to one thirsting for natural gas. Indeed, the project provides all of the natural gas consumed in Lima and accounts for 50% of electric generation in the country.

Additionally, Camisea has insured that Peru’s hydrocarbon trade balance remains positive largely on the back of the natural gas liquids produced.  More broadly,, the project has fostered investment of over $13 billion and boosted annual GDP growth by .25%.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of production from Camisea as well as the 31st anniversary of its discovery by Shell. It is important to celebrate this anniversary to underscore how the project has transitioned from a challenge to an opportunity and economic cornerstone for Peru. Former US Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, has called it the best model there is in the developing world.

A consortium led by Argentine firm Pluspetrol was awarded a forty year concession in 2000 when the project began anew. The consortium overcame major logistical challenges on the path to bringing natural gas to Lima. In an effort to minimize environmental impacts, and as part of stringent requirements put in place by the project’s financiers led by the Inter-American Development Bank, no roads were built for the project.

Related Report: 5 Giant Game Changing Energy Trends

Instead, the project was developed as an “offshore on land” operation, that is an extractive project implemented as if it were at sea and with a minimal footprint. The project has used only 7% of the acreage available for development and has also supported creation of a national park and sanctuaries in the area. Constructing and placing the project in operation was done primarily using fluvial routes and helicopters to land an estimated 700,000 tons of equipment.

To date, the project maintains rigid control of access to the project site in order to safeguard the local environment and communities. Medical safeguards include a Medical Passport program that insures proper inoculations of those working on or visiting the distant operation.

The consortium and government have aimed to involve communities in the project’s development and operation. According to Pluspetrol, over 12,000 indigenous residents of the region participated in a wide range of consultative meetings and discussions. The project’s lenders have also placed important conditions on indigenous and community relations.

But the results and expectations have not been entirely met. Critics and local community leaders argue that the economic windfall of the project has not been properly directed back to the local area. There are ongoing needs for education and health care in the area surrounding the project.  It appears clear that the consortium, but especially the Peruvian government, would do well to double down on their efforts to further manage social issues and enhance community relations.

In terms of the future, Camisea’s past is prologue: the project has unleashed massive demand for natural gas in the Andean nation, primarily for electric generation to sustain one of Latin America’s fastest growing economies. One estimate points to demand for natural gas almost doubling in the country’s power sector by 2024.

Related Report: The 5 NEXT Big Oil & Gas Trends

But despite impressive impacts to date, there are challenges for Camisea and Peru’s natural gas potential more broadly. Beyond the huge need for improved relations with the local communities, the government is also striving to confront an infrastructure deficit. To sustain the gains of the last ten years, downstream infrastructure and pipelines must be a major focus, and the long-awaited Gasoducto de Sur project needs to be built.

ADVERTISEMENT

A traditional tenth anniversary gift is tin. But this August the Peruvian government and Camisea consortium may wish to forego exchanging tin gifts and instead insure that Camisea steadily marches forward towards its silver and gold anniversaries.  

By. Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin is the Energy Program Director at the Institute of the Americas, a think tank focused on Western Hemisphere Affairs based at the University of California, San Diego.


Download The Free Oilprice App Today

Back to homepage





Leave a comment
  • Lee James on August 05 2014 said:
    This is an interesting article... points to our general awareness that resource extraction and utilization projects could go better fo locals. Seems to come down to who makes and keeps the money, with lots of promises to locals that don't seem to materialize in the short term.

    I find that increasingly with fossil fuels, we need to carefully keep tabs on net benefit to society and our home, the earth.

    Please keep us informed on this project!
  • john werneken on August 05 2014 said:
    More economic benefits if only danger to humans allowed as an environmental concern, which I am certain is as it should be.

    Also locals are allowed too much collective say in too many things in too many countries; ignore them.

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News