Peru: Gasnorp denounces pressures against gas distribution license

Rosa Salem, spokeswoman for Gases del Norte (a subsidiary of Promigas), responded last week to criticisms of the company’s plans to develop a gas field in Piura, first voiced by congresswoman Marisol Espinoza. Ms. Salem stated that the process through which the Colombian company obtained the concession was entirely transparent, and accused Ms. Espinoza of trying to stir controversy in order to benefit Piura’s local Electric Company, EEPSA.

Congresswoman Marisol Espinoza Cruz presented a constitutional complaint several days ago, accusing the company of having obtained a concession to distribute natural gas from the Piura region without undergoing any due process. The procedure used by the company, she said, only considered five major towns, leaving several others aside and thus skewing the results in favor of the Colombian gas company. Ms. Espinoza has argued that this is enough to consider the concession to have been awarded without a public contest and resulting in a virtual monopoly for Gases del Norte.

The congresswoman’s complaint, however, was rejected by the Subcommittee for Constitutional Complaints, which said the complaint had failed to determine any particular damages, since – as stated by the plaintiff Ms. Espinoza herself- the concession has not yet been fully approved.

Full Content: Reuters

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