Canadian independent Altamesa Energy is set to join Peruvian state-owned energy company Petroperu in developing one of the Andean’s nation most prolific areas.

Last year, Peru’s hydrocarbons regulator Perupetro awarded Petroperu a 30-year contract to produce hydrocarbons from Block 192 in the onshore Maranon basin in the country’s Amazon jungle.

Petroperu found a new partner for Block 192 in Altamesa, which is due to become operator of the permit in the next few days with a 61% stake.

The consortium is then expected to make minimum investments of $630 million to drill one exploration well and 20 oil producing wells in an attempt to potentially resume production in the area in the second half of 2024.

Canadian player Frontera Energy used to operate Block 192 but returned the area in 2021 to Perupetro upon termination of the temporary contract.

Altamesa and Petroperu intend to reactive operations in Block 192 and produce about 10,000 barrels per day of oil, which will allow output in the country to increase by more than 25% and will boost revenues in the Loreto region.

Historically, Block 192 has produced 737 million barrels of crude, more than any other in the Maranon basin.

According to the latest available data by Perupetro, the country produced approximately 36,300 bpd in November 2023, way down from a peak of nearly 140,000 bpd in 1995 when investments in Peru’s hydrocarbons sector were booming.

In an effort to revert a declining production curve, Perupetro has been promoting 31 areas in the Maranon, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Tumbes and Salaverry basins to attract new investments for exploration activities in the country.

Exploration work has been dormant in Peru. There was no wildcatting activity in 2023 and the last exploration well drilled in the country took place in the fourth quarter of 2021.