By Marcelo Rochabrun and Marco Aquino
LIMA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Peru's socialist president, Pedro
Castillo, urged Congress on Monday to draft a bill for the
"nationalization" of Peru's natural gas sector, undoing previous
statements in which he said he would not seek to nationalize
parts of the economy.
In remarks broadcast on government-owned TV Peru, Castillo
said he wanted "to draft a joint bill with Congress regarding
the nationalization of (the natural gas sector)."
"It is necessary to give Peruvians what the people have
produced," Castillo added.
Castillo campaigned on a far-left platform that included the
nationalization of the gas and mining sectors, but had said
since taking office in July that he would keep industries in
private hands and incentivize private investment.
Under Peru's constitution, private companies can be
nationalized only with congressional approval. Peru's Congress
leans right and it is unlikely that a majority coalition would
support the nationalization of the gas sector.
Peru, the world's No. 2 copper producer, has a major gas
operation run by the Camisea consortium, led by Argentina's
Pluspetrol, with smaller stakes held by South
Korea's SK Group, Hunt Oil and Repsol SA.
Castillo's first prime minister, Guido Bellido, threatened
in a tweet last month to nationalize https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-pm-warns-gas-sector-pay-higher-taxes-or-face-nationalization-2021-09-26
the Camisea consortium, but the president replaced him with a
more moderate pick on Oct. 6. Peru's sol currency, which had
fallen to a record low following the nationalization threat,
rallied on the news.
Earlier on Monday, the new prime minister, Mirtha Vasquez,
repeated in remarks to Congress that the Castillo administration
seeks to respect private property.
"We are conscious of the importance of private investment in
generating economic growth," Vasquez said.
She and a new Cabinet are seeking approval from Congress,
with a confirmation vote now set for next week.
The natural gas from Camisea is liquefied by a separate
consortium, called Peru LNG, which includes Royal
Dutch Shell, Japan's Marubeni Corp, SK Group
and Hunt Oil.
Castillo's administration is currently negotiating with
Camisea in order to extract higher royalty payments.
(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun and Marco Aquino; Editing by
Peter Cooney)
