Tourism recovery helping boost Repsol’s Peru refinery

The recovery of the post-pandemic tourism sector is helping buoy fuel sales in Peru, according to Repsol-controlled Refinería La Pampilla.

The Spanish group’s local unit operates the country’s largest refinery which boasts nominal capacity of 117,000b/d, followed by national oil company Petroperú’s 95,000b/d Talara plant.

In its earnings report, La Pampilla highlighted a 43% jump in jet fuel demand in January-May.

Total Demand

Products (kbbld)	to May 2022	to May 2023
Gasolines	54.1	52.4
Diesel	120.4	122.9
Residuals	3.2	2.2
Asphalt	2.6	2.0
Turbo	13.4	19.1
Total	193.7	198.6

Official data Ministry of Energy and Mines. Does not include Bunker

Source: La Pampilla

“In the first months of the year, national demand was affected by social conflicts and roadblocks generating stoppages of projects and postponement of execution of infrastructure. During the second quarter, there was a gradual recovery in demand following the growth of the national economy,” the refiner said.

In the first half, La Pampilla’s revenue slid 11% to US$2.06bn, which the company attributed principally to the decrease in the international Brent crude price, offset by a higher sales volume.

La Pampilla sold 18Mb in 1H23, up 11.4% year on year. Of the 18Mb, 14.1Mb was sold domestically and 3.9Mb was shipped abroad.

The refiner posted a net profit of US$58.9mn in 1H23 versus a net loss of US$237mn in the year-ago period because of a provision for impairment of assets for US$401mn.

La Pampilla also reported it invested US$12.8mn in the first half on its RLP35 gasoline expansion and RLP35 terminal improvement projects, among other spending.