Irish explorer Pan Andean Resources has won two oil and gas blocks “in a competive round” which cover Peruvian highlands and lowlands, including an area near the “world class” Camisea gas-condensate field in the Ucayali basin.

The 40,000-square-kilometre Block 131 in the central Ucayali basin is said to be “highly prospective” with its 750 kilometres of 2D seismic, four wells and three known oil seeps. Pan Andean would have to reprocess 500 km of survey within 12 months.

Block 141’s 22,000 sq. km cover Lake Titicaca in the “frontier”, high plains of Peru where “a working petroleum system” was discovered in 1875 with the Pirin oil field. Aeromagnetic surveys and other geological data will be collected in this area over a course of 18 months.