12:00 | Lima, Sep. 18 (ANDINA).
Peru's state-owned energy company, Petroleos del Peru SA , or Petroperu, said Monday it still plans to sell shares on the Lima Stock Exchange before the end of the year.
Petroperu President Humberto Campodonico said during a press conference that the company is waiting to sell the shares until after it has announced details of upcoming investment projects, particularly the modernization of the Talara refinery.
Earlier this year, Petroperu signed a contract with Societe Generale to carry out due diligence to determine the exact cost of the modernization, which is currently estimated at $1.7 billion. Societe Generale is also analyzing, evaluating and designing the financial framework for the project.
On Monday, Campodonico said Petroperu is ready to sell shares but needs to wait until the report on the Talara refinery is completed, which will provide investors a clearer picture of the company's business plan over the medium term.
"We don't want to delay it beyond the end of the year," he was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
Petroperu is authorized to sell up to 20% of its shares, but officials have said that a smaller amount will likely be placed initially in the market.
The upgrade is aimed at reducing levels of sulfur and allowing the refinery to refine the heavy crude that will be extracted in the future in northern Peru. Petroperu says it aims to increase oil production at Talara to 95,000 barrels a day from the current capacity of 65,000 barrels a day.
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Published: 9/18/2012