LatAmOil: Peru bars Repsol from unloading oil at La Pampilla

Peru’s Environment Minister Ruben Ramirez said on January 31 that Repsol (Spain) would not be permitted to take delivery of feedstock for its La Pampilla refinery until it could provide adequate technical guarantees with respect to its ability to handle oil spills.

Ramirez declared that the Spanish company was already performing inadequately, as evidenced by the spill that occurred at one of the four moorings it operates at La Pampilla on January 15. Under these circumstances, he said, Peruvian authorities cannot allow the Spanish company to unload or upload crude for the refinery.

Since this decision effectively suspends operations at the 117,000 barrel per day La Pampilla refinery, it raises concerns about petroleum product supplies in Peru. The country’s only other major domestic source of fuel is the 65,000 bpd La Talara plant, owned by the national oil company (NOC) Petroperu, which has been offline for about two years while undergoing modernisation. Petroperu said at the weekend, though, that it could cover local demand.