Peru will import 135,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to cover a lack of supplies in Lima, the capital, after pipeline problems, the government said on Friday. The local units of Repsol and Grupo Zeta, which distribute LPG for use in homes and cars in Peru, will make the purchases, the Energy and Mines Ministry said in a statement.
On April 30, a pipeline operated by Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP) broke, affecting the transportation of natural gas from Peru's jungle to a fractioning plant on the coast, the ministry said. LPG is mostly derived from natural gas. LPG production also fell this month because of pipeline maintenance at Peru's Camisea gas fields, controlled by the Argentine firm Pluspetrol and its junior partners. Work on the pipeline wrapped up on Wednesday, the ministry said.
Pluspetrol said earlier this week that TGP's ruptured pipeline had stopped operating for six days. The pipeline spilled some 1,700 barrels of natural gas, according to environmental regulator OEFA. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owns 36.8 percent of TGP, followed by Sonatrach with 21.2 percent and Enagas with 20 percent. It is unclear if the pipeline affected Peru's exports of liquefied natural gas.