Perenco Guatemala, the current operator of the pipeline, was the only bidder in the tender to obtain the concession for the operation and administration of the Hydrocarbons Transportation Stationary System.
The contract to operate the system includes a 425 kilometer pipeline, five pumping stations and the Piedras Negras export terminal, in Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla, and the model of the contract to operate and manage it will be for a maximum of 25 years, with an option to extend.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines reports that the process to tender the operation of the pipeline has been approved by the Attorney General's Office.
Without giving further details on the terms of the contract for the operation of the pipeline, currently the responsibility of Perenco, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Luis Chang, stated that the bidding process received a favorable ruling and is progress is being made.
The Guatemalan government has finally approved the contracting model and promises to launch the bidding process within the next four months.
At the end of 2016 the Ministry of Energy and Mines announced that it was beginning to prepare, at that time, a plan to call a new tenderand grant a concession for the operation of the pipeline, currently in the hands of Perenco, to a new company. Due to delays in the process, in February last year the contract with Perenco was extended for 18 months, meaning that August would be the deadline for the new launch.
After an 11% reduction in the output between 2015 and 2016, last year production totaled 9,641 million barrels, 7% more than the figures in 2016.
Due to the age of the wells operated by the company Perenco, according to figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the national production of crude oil between 2010 and 2017 "... shows a downward trend due to the natural decline of the producing areas".
After the expiration of the concession currently held by Perenco, a tender is to be launched for the operation of a pipeline connecting the Xan field in Peten with the oil terminal in Piedras Negras.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "...Vice President Jafeth Cabrera, after a meeting in Puerto Barrrios, Izabal, said the contract with Perenco which expires next year will be extended by no longer than six months in order to realise the tender."
No date has been set for the submission of bids in the tender for the award of a concession for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the seven areas identified by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), and the publication of a Government Agreement about the tender is still pending, believed to be happening at the end of November.
Representatives from 45 companies attended a presentation about the oil areas that Guatemala will put out to tender.
Representatives from the companies Hupecol, Superior Energy Services, E & P Sucursal Colombia, Trayectoria del Gas, Petro Dorado, Ecopetrol, Pacific Rubiales, Geopetrocol and delegates from Perenco Guatemala and Perenco Colombia, participated in the presentation made by the Ministry of Energy and mines (MEM) held in the Colombian capital.
The change of government in Guatemala has delayed the ratification of a contract awarded to City Petén for oil drilling in an area with 140 million barrels.
On October 31st, 2011, at the end of the Colon administration, the Ministry of Energy and Mines signed a concession contract to exploit oil in the Yalcanix (PTN 1-2008) area with the Guatemalan company City Petén after a tender in which only two other companies, Perenco Guatemala and the aforementioned City Petén participated. The offer from Perenco was $11 million and City Petén’s was $30 million. Both companies have experience in oil exploration in the country.
Without disclosing the name of the company, the Ministry of Energy and Mines has announced that they have awarded a contract for exploration and exploitation of oil in Petén.
The Minister of that department, Alfredo Pokus, noted that they won't reveal the name of the contractor until the company itself has been notified.
In the first quarter of 2011 the country received $133.91 million from the sale of oil, 61% more than in the same period in 2010.
In terms of volume, Guatemala sold 1.41 million barrels during the period, 5.2% more than in the same months last year.
César Corado, director of hydrocarbons, said the change is due to international prices of crude oil and the fact that they negotiated a better contract, "before it was with Maya crude oil and now we use Mars Louisiana."
Only two companies, Perenco and City Petén, have submitted bids for the Yalcanix block, located in Petén.
For the other three areas tendered, San Francisco, La Libertad and Xacbal, no bids were received at all. The Ministry of Energy and Mines will decide whether to convene a new tender.
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