Petroperú’s Union Wants Agency ProInversión Pulled From the Oil Rescue
Energy
Key Facts
—The demand. Petroperú’s oil-workers’ federation wants the government to remove ProInversión from the company’s rescue.
—The target. The union asks the government to repeal two emergency decrees that gave the agency control.
—The argument. After six months, the union says the agency has produced no result that strengthened the company.
—The numbers. Petroperú posted a $208 million net profit and $395 million EBITDA in early 2026.
—The counter. The agency warns that repealing the decrees would void a $2 billion rescue and could trigger bondholder claims.
—The timing. The fight lands two weeks before a new government takes office on July 28.
The Petroperu ProInversion dispute has flared into an open demand. The state oil company’s workers want the agency running its rescue removed altogether.
The call came from FENPETROL, the national federation of oil, energy and allied workers. It asked the government and president-elect Keiko Fujimori to reverse the current intervention scheme.
At issue are two emergency decrees issued late in 2025 and in 2026. They handed ProInversión, the state’s investment-promotion agency, a central role in reorganising Petroperú.
Those decrees gave the agency seats on the board and the shareholders’ meeting. They also tasked it with structuring up to two billion dollars of international financing for the company.
The Petroperu ProInversion argument over the numbers
The union’s core claim is that the intervention has delivered nothing. Its general secretary, Rafael Noblecilla, said the agency could not show a single concrete result after half a year.
He credited any recovery to the staff instead. The federation pointed to a net profit of two hundred and eight million dollars and EBITDA of three hundred and ninety-five million in the first four months of 2026.
The union argues those results reflect operations, not the reorganisation. It says better efficiency, cost control and market conditions, rather than ProInversión, drove the turnaround.
Critics of that reading urge caution. Some analysts note the early-year profit was flattered by delayed payments to suppliers, which if settled on time would have thinned the gains.
The union frames the decrees as privatisation by another name. It argues the scheme opens the door to asset sales, outsourcing and job cuts under the banner of optimisation.
The dispute is already in the courts. Judges have admitted challenges from the workers and from the country’s ombudsman, with one union hearing set for early October.
Why unwinding the deal is risky
The agency has a blunt warning of its own. Its officials say that scrapping the decrees would also void the two-billion-dollar rescue tied to them.
The danger goes further. ProInversión has cautioned that unwinding the scheme could trigger early repayment demands from the company’s bondholders, a costly scenario.
The rescue itself was built to avoid public money. The financing runs through a special-purpose vehicle that borrows privately, so that, officials say, no taxpayer soles are touched.
The operational stakes remain acute. The flagship Talara refinery has been running at reduced capacity, held back by the company’s difficulty buying enough crude.
The backdrop is a company under strain. Petroperú carries billions of dollars in debt and has seen its share of the national fuel market shrink sharply over the past decade.
Leadership has churned as well. The company has run through a string of chief executives in recent years, a revolving door that mirrors Peru’s wider political instability.
For a foreign investor, the read is about continuity. The clash pits labour against a market-friendly restructuring just as an incoming government signals it wants to shrink the company further.
The union has aimed its appeal at both leaders. It urged the sitting president to honour an earlier stance in favour of repeal, while asking Fujimori to back the international financing the company still needs.
What is the Petroperu ProInversion dispute about?
Petroperú’s oil-workers’ federation wants the government to remove ProInversión from the company’s reorganisation and repeal the emergency decrees that empowered it. The union says six months of intervention have produced no concrete financial gains.
Why does removing ProInversión carry risk?
The agency warns that repealing the decrees would also void a two-billion-dollar financing package tied to them. It has cautioned that this could trigger early repayment demands from bondholders, worsening the company’s finances.
Why does the timing matter?
The dispute lands two weeks before a new government takes office on July 28. The incoming administration has signalled it wants to shrink Petroperú by selling assets, setting up a clash with the company’s unions.
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