The French-English energy company Perenco will invest more than $2 billion to explore and extract heavy crude in jungles of northern Peru, doubling its planned outlay. The Perenco SA president Francois Perrodo has said the company hopes to begin production by 2013 at the field in Loreto state. Perrodo spoke Friday after meeting with Peruvian President Alan Garcia. The Paris-based company said previously it would invest $1 billion over three years.

The field holds reserves estimated at more than 300 million barrels and the company will drill 11 wells in Blocks 67 and 121. Perenco is aiming to produce 100,000 barrels a day of heavy crude at its fields in Peru’s northern Amazon jungle.

Companies such as ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum Corp, Lukoil and Petroleos de Venezuela SA are cutting jobs and reducing spending plans after the global crisis cut oil demand. The price of oil has dropped some 65% since peaking at $147.27 a barrel on July 11. Indian activists also warn that oil operations threaten isolated communities, but the government says there is no definitive proof that such groups live in the region.

Perenco holds a 100% interest in the licence contract for Block 67 in the Maranon Basin that comprises of the Paiche, Dorado and Pirana fields. In total the development plan includes the drilling of over 100 wells from 10 platforms and construction of central processing facilities and local pipelines for delivery of crude oil into the export pipeline system. This system will transport production to Bayovar export terminal, located 1000km from Block 67 on the Pacific coast.

Perenco is to participate in a continuing exploration programme in the region as well as seismic acquisition operations on nearby Block 121.