LatinNews Daily - 16 September 2024

*Peru’s government has announced emergency measures to rescue the crisis-ridden state oil company, Petroperú, authorising additional funding for the company and ordering it to work with a private partner as part of a restructuring process. This came after the company’s entire executive board resigned on 10 September after accusing President Dina Boluarte’s administration of refusing to take difficult decisions about Petroperú’s future. Under the new measures, the finance ministry will take over the payment of Petroperú’s debts to the Spanish export credit agency (Cesce), which helped finance the construction of Petroperú’s new Talara refinery. The government will also pay up to US$1bn in loan repayments that Petroperú currently owes to the state-owned Peruvian bank Banco de la Nación, as well as authorising further financial assistance to the company of up to US$750m. As well as these measures, the decree orders Petroperú to contract the services of a private company that will design and manage a restructuring process to guarantee Petroperú’s long-term sustainability. This was a key demand of the company’s directors before they resigned en masse.