Egyptian Firm Cheiron to Run Peru Oil Field

PERU · OIL AND GAS · LOT 192

An Egypt-based oil company, Cheiron, will take 75% of Peru’s Lot 192 oil field in the Amazon and run it, while state-owned Petroperú keeps 25%.

Peru has approved Petroloreto, a unit of the Egypt-based oil company Cheiron, as operator of Lot 192, its long-idle Amazon oil field in the region of Loreto, under a decree published on Friday 23 October 2026. Petroloreto takes 75% of the licence contract and the role of operator, and state-owned Petroperú keeps 25%, according to statements from Perupetro, the state agency that signs oil contracts, and from Petroperú.

For readers in the United States, the deal tests whether Peru can bring foreign money back to a field that has been shut for more than six years and that Petroperú has called the largest in the country. The oil itself is modest, since Perupetro’s president estimates first output at about 5,000 barrels a day, roughly 0.04% of the 13.9 million barrels a day the United States produced in July, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

What the Decree and Contracts Say

Supreme Decree 023-2026-EM appeared in an extraordinary edition of the official gazette El Peruano on Friday 23 October, and it approves the transfer of 75% of the Lot 192 licence contract from Petroperú to Petroloreto S.A.C. It authorises Perupetro to sign that change with Petroperú and Petroloreto, which Petroperú describes as a subsidiary of Cheiron Holdings Egypt Limited.

Perupetro announced on Saturday 24 October that it had signed the change, and Petroperú said it also signed an Investment Contract and a Joint Operating Agreement with Petroloreto and Perupetro that set the terms for investing in and running the field for the next 27 years. The decree itself moves 75% to Petroloreto, and Petroperú’s statement adds that Petroloreto will be the operator while Petroperú keeps the other 25%.

Perupetro said its part was limited to checking that the partner Petroperú proposed qualified, and that Cheiron meets the financial, technical and legal requirements. It said finding, negotiating with and choosing the partner was Petroperú’s exclusive job.

What Lot 192 Is and What Comes Next

Lot 192 lies in Loreto, in the districts of Andoas, Tigre and Trompeteros, and includes the old Lot 1AB. Petroperú said in 2023 that the field has produced 737 million barrels over its life, more than any other in the Marañón basin.

On Tuesday 28 February 2023 Petroperú called it the country’s largest oil field, with 127 million barrels of technically recoverable proven reserves. Reserves are oil that can be recovered with investment, not oil that is ready to pump.

Perupetro’s president, Esteban Bertarelli, told El Comercio on Wednesday 21 October that the field could produce again about a year and a half after signing, and he agreed when asked that this points to around mid-2028. He said the jungle has covered the old roads, so about 600 kilometres (about 370 miles) of new roads are needed, and the pumps may be damaged.

He put first output at about 5,000 barrels a day, against the 12,000 Petroperú estimated in April 2025, according to Forbes Perú. Perupetro put the minimum investment at US$230 million for rehabilitation, reviving wells and new drilling, and Bertarelli said Cheiron will pay for it.

Who Cheiron Is and How It Was Chosen

Cheiron’s then chief executive, Dave Thomas, said in a 2021 interview with Egypt Oil & Gas that the company, formerly known as PICO, has worked in Egyptian oil for more than 30 years. Bertarelli said Cheiron operates fields in Egypt, Mexico and Romania and produces 132,000 barrels a day, which he called enough financial and operating capacity for this contract.

Asked whether the lot was handed over by direct negotiation rather than a tender, Bertarelli said Petroperú presented Cheiron and Perupetro does not know how it was chosen. He understands Petroperú talked to several contractors, and ProInversión, the state agency now restructuring Petroperú, took part in the contract talks as an observer.

“Petro-Perú was the one that presented Cheiron to us. We do not know how it chose it.”
Esteban Bertarelli, president of Perupetro, in El Comercio, 21 October 2026 (translated from Spanish)

Bertarelli said the agreement with Cheiron includes a trust fund to pay the debt Petroperú owes Lot 192 suppliers. On the debts of the former partner Altamesa he said it is for Petroperú to resolve and he has no information.

What It Means for You

For US investors the project is a signal rather than a trade, since the operator is Egyptian, Petroperú is state-owned and none of the 2026 statements we read names a US company as a partner. US investors in Peru work under the US-Peru trade agreement in force since February 2009, which the US Trade Representative says gives investors a secure, predictable legal framework.

At about 5,000 barrels a day Lot 192 will not move US fuel prices, but it shows Lima still courting foreign oil capital, as our report of Tuesday 20 October on Peru’s oil push described. The licence contract signed in 2023 includes a social fund for native communities along the Pastaza, Corrientes and Tigre rivers, Petroperú said at the time.

What Is Not Known

The text of Decree 023-2026-EM, which we read in El Peruano, confirms the transfer of 75% to Petroloreto S.A.C. but does not name Cheiron, the operator role or the 27-year term, which come from Petroperú’s own statement and from Perupetro’s statement as carried by Andina and Radio Nacional. The signed agreements are not public, and the statements mention no payment to Petroperú for the 75%.

Reserve figures differ, since Gestión cites 127 million barrels while Petroperú’s latest statement says “more than 120 million barrels”. The “largest” label comes from Petroperú’s 2023 statement and Gestión’s headline, and we found no independent ranking.

Bertarelli’s 5,000 barrels a day and 18 months are estimates that depend on roads, pumps and drilling not yet started, and we found no Cheiron timetable. The size of the supplier debts and the terms of the trust fund have not been published.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who will operate Peru’s Lot 192 oil field?

Petroloreto S.A.C., a subsidiary of Egypt-based Cheiron Holdings Egypt Limited, will hold 75% and operate the field. Petroperú, Peru’s state oil company, keeps 25%.

When will Lot 192 produce oil again?

Perupetro’s president estimates first output about 18 months after signing, which points to around mid-2028. He expects roughly 5,000 barrels a day at first, a figure that has not been independently checked.

How much will the project cost?

Perupetro says the work programme needs at least US$230 million, covering rehabilitation, reviving wells and drilling. Its president says Cheiron will fund the investment.

Why does Lot 192 matter to US readers?

It is a test of whether Peru can attract foreign oil money, not a source of US supply. At about 5,000 barrels a day it would equal roughly 0.04% of US crude output.

Is Lot 192 really Peru’s largest oil field?

Petroperú called it the country’s largest in 2023, with 127 million barrels of proven, technically recoverable reserves. We found no independent ranking, and its latest statement says only “more than 120 million barrels”.

Sources: El Peruano, extraordinary edition, text of Supreme Decree 023-2026-EM, 23 October 2026, Petroperú, press note NP-065, 24 October 2026, El Peruano, Petroperú to hold 100% of Lot 192, 17 October 2026, El Peruano, text of Supreme Decree 021-2026-EM, 17 October 2026, Radio Nacional, Perupetro statement on the contract change, 24 October 2026, Andina, Perupetro statement, 24 October 2026, ProActivo, Petroperú statement, 24 October 2026, Energiminas, 24 October 2026, El Comercio, interview with Perupetro president Esteban Bertarelli, 21 October 2026, Gestión, 24 October 2026, La República, 24 October 2026, Petroperú, press note 026-2023 filed with the securities regulator, 28 February 2023, Forbes Perú, 16 April 2025, Energiminas, Upland disqualification, 31 October 2025, Energiminas, Upland response, 16 December 2025, Egypt Oil & Gas, interview with Cheiron’s then CEO, 16 November 2021, US Energy Information Administration, crude oil production, July 2026, Office of the US Trade Representative, Peru Trade Promotion Agreement. All retrieved 25 October 2026. Perupetro’s statement is known through Andina and Radio Nacional, because we could not open Perupetro’s own site, so its facts are attributed to the agency.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief