Repsol said it has started gas production in the Kinteroni field, Peru.
The field, located in Cuzco, east of Lima, will initially produce 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, which is expected to double by 2016.
Repsol is the operator of the project with a 53.84% stake, with Brazil’s Petrobras holding the remaining 46.16%. Block 57 has great potential for further exploration.
Kinteroni is located in block 57, east of Peru’s Andes mountain range, and is one of the most promising gas-prone exploratory plays in Peru. In 2012 Repsol made another large discovery in the area, Sagari. Preliminary estimates indicate the field may hold resources of between 2 and 3 TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas.
With the start-up of Kinteroni, one of the five biggest discoveries made worldwide in 2008, Repsol has begun production in seven of its ten key growth projects included in the Strategic Plan 2012-2016: Sapinhoa (Brazil), Mid-continent (USA), AROG (Russia) Margarita-Huacaya (Peru), Lubina and Montanazo (Spain), Carabobo (Venezuela) and the aforementioned Kinteroni (Peru).
The start of production from these projects has allowed the company to significantly increase its output, at an average annual rate of 7% since 2011, to reach 346,000 barrels per day in 2013. At the same time, the company increased its reserve replacement ratio to a record 275% in 2013.
Press Release, April 1, 2014; Image: Repsol