Perupetro scraps bids for blocks, slates new round.(Peru)(Brief Article)

Perupetro SA, Peru's petroleum regulatory agency, has voided the international tender it called in December 1996 for exploration and development licenses for offshore Blocks Z-1 and Z-3 and instead will hold a private auction.

Perupetro's directors were reportedly dissatisfied with royalties offered by the four companies that presented bids on Apr. 21. Under the tender's terms, bidders offering the highest weighted-average royalties for gas, condensate, and crude oil would win the contracts. In practice, however, the bases for the royalties apparently did not work.

Perupetro will scout about 23 firms that …