LIMA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Peru's state-owned energy firm Petroperu is looking to improve its financial portfolio within two to three years in order to launch a minority share offer, Chairman Pedro Chira said on Tuesday.
The company also hopes to turn a profit in 2025 after administrative and financial restructuring, he added during a press conference with foreign media in Lima.
"What's being proposed is, if in two or three years we've recovered that economic and financial health, and the company reaches a specific value, an offer could be launched for 20% to 30% of the company's shares," Chira said.
While the law allows Petroperu to offer up to 49%, "the idea is to not reach that percentage," he added.
Petroperu is also not considering another share offer after the initial 20%-30% stake, at least for the moment, Chira said.
The oil company has faced liquidity problems in recent years, with a capital injection from the state triggering the resignation of Petroperu's former chairman in 2022.
Petroperu's newly renovated Talara refinery, which began a $5 billion modernization in 2014, is set to operate at full capacity next year, Chira said.
Likewise, Petroperu has begun to produce crude oil for the first time in nearly three decades as it operates three lots that were previously in private hands. They will produce around 7,000 barrels of crude a day, he said.
The company is also eyeing crude oil transportation contracts with at least two companies operating crude fields in the Peruvian jungle.
Petroperu operates a 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) pipeline from the Amazon to the Pacific coast that has been attacked dozens of times by remote communities demanding greater social investment.
In Peru, firms exploiting natural resources, particularly miners, have battled social conflicts in recent years, especially after the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo at the end of 2022. (Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Sarah Morland and Paul Simao)
