- PetroTal (TAL) has resumed production at its Bretana oil field after the Peruvian government directed the temporary shut down of operations
- The decision came as part of the country’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19
- Production has now returned to pre-shut down levels of 11,500 barrels of oil per day, and deliveries to the Iquitos refinery have resumed
- The company has implemented strict safety protocols that include social distancing, the use of facemasks at all times and temperature checks three times a day
- PetroTal (TAL) is currently down 3.7 per cent and is trading at C$0.26 per share
PetroTal (TAL) has resumed production at its Bretana oil field after the Peruvian government directed the temporary shut down of operations.
The decision took effect on May 7 as part of a wider effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, and resulted in the closure of the Northern Oil Pipeline, which is operated by Petroperu SA.
As such, PetroTal capped its oil production at the Bretana oil field due to storage capacity limitations, and utilised a crew of 30 employees to undertake a care and maintenance schedule.
Production at Bretana resumed on July 15, and has since returned to its pre-shut down levels of 11,500 barrels of oil per day. In some instances, production exceeds 12,000 barrels of oil per day when all seven wells were online.
Oil deliveries to the Iquitos refinery have also resumed, with roughly 40,000 barrels expected to be delivered in July.
In addition, further shipments are currently being barges to the Saramuro Pump Station in preparation for the re-opening of the Northern Oil Pipeline, which is expected to occur in early August.
Subsequently, and in order to manage PetroTal’s inventory and storage capacity, production at Bretana has been reduced to 8,000 barrels of oil per day until the pipeline restarts.
Manolo Zuniga, President and CEO of PetroTal, expressed his gratitude for the way the company handled the shut down.
“I would like to thank the 30 person team that stayed at Bretana during the shut down and ensured all the facilities were properly maintained, which is reflected by how quickly the new 130 person team was able to re-open the oil wells.
“Our commitment is to ensure all stakeholders benefit from the Bretana project, including the local communities that support our company,” he said.
In line with the re-opening, PetroTal has implemented strict safety policies, which include social distancing, the use of facemasks at all times, temperature checks three times a day and on-site healthcare professionals.
PetroTal (TAL) is down 3.7 per cent and is trading at C$0.26 per share at 1:41pm EDT.
