Peru Resumes LNG Exports after Pipeline Rupture

Peru has exported its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in three weeks after a pipeline rupture in the jungle disrupted production, the state energy agency Perupetro said on Tuesday.

The ship Barcelona Knutsen departed Peru for South Korea on Monday with 170,999 cubic meters (6,038,772 cubic feet) of fuel from the Pampa Melchorita plant, which is operated by the consortium Peru LNG, Perupetro said in a report.

U.S.-based Hunt Oil has a 40 percent stake in Peru LNG. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Japan's Marubeni Corp and other companies have smaller stakes in the consortium.

Peru's LNG exports had halted after landslides and heavy rains in southeastern Peru ruptured a natural gas pipeline operated by Transportadora de Gas de Peru SA early this month.

The pipeline transports natural gas from the Camisea fields, which are operated by Argentina's Pluspetrol Camisea SA , to Pampa Melchorita, Peru's sole natural gas liquefaction facility.

Peru LNG normally exports five or six shipments of about 150,000 cubic meters each month.