Petroperu recorded losses until September of this year of US$745 million, and it is estimated that this figure will increase to US$900 million by the end of 2024, but for the president of the board of directors of the state company, Alejandro Narváez, this is just a problem of liquidity and “little by little we are getting out” of this situation.
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Part of what the new head of the company will do to get out of this crisis is to get rid of assets that they consider unproductive. In February 2024, this newspaper revealed that the oil company had around 60 “non-essential” properties for its operation, including the Punta Arenas Club in Talara, which had all kinds of luxuries.
To determine which properties they are going to sell, Narváez reported that they have carried out an inventory that “must be materialized by Proinvestment”. However, he clarified that the San Isidro building (Lima) is not on that list.
“70% of Petroperú’s business is carried out in Lima, between the sales plant and the Conchán Refinery, and the Callao sales plant. Here is the business center. In Talara that would not make sense,” he said in statements to RRP.
It should be noted that the previous board did plan to move operations to Talara (Piura) and look for the most profitable option for the San Isidro property.
With an optimism that raises doubts, he also pointed out that next year net profit would reach at least 15% of total billing, which they expect to reach US$4.8 billion.
In addition, he described as “absurd” that a PMO is hired to manage Petroperú. What they will do, as required by emergency decree 013-2024, is to hire the services of a specialized firm that is in charge of managing the company’s Comprehensive Transformation Process. In that sense, he pointed out that the consulting firm in charge of this work could be Arthur D. Little or McKinsey.
Narváez specified that if the study carried out for this plan contemplates personnel adjustments, this cut will be made.
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LITTLE CREDIBILITY
The president of Petroperú reiterated that they will not ask the State for more resources to help the company, however, the former Vice Minister of Energy, Arturo Vásquez, indicated that “the most likely thing is that they will ask for another bailout in May of next year.”
“The Talara Refinery is operating at a capacity of 72,000 barrels per day, when it should be 95,000. Furthermore, the state-owned company has lost market share and due to the pressure of competition and poor management, it now only has a 25% share. How are they going to reverse that?” he told Perú21.
Likewise, he considered that one of the reasons why they do not want to sell the San Isidro building is that part of the company’s union works there. “There are more than 1,000 who work in that space and their work does not add value,” he added.
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