MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Norwegian company involved in Peruvian energy scandal

Valdivia quits over scandal

A scandal over alleged oil kickbacks has forced out Peru's Energy minister and two top state oil company executives and led the government to void five oil contracts with Norway's Discover Petroleum, officials said Monday.

President Alan Garcia accepted the resignations of Energy Minister Juan Valdivia Romero and Cesar Gutierrez, president of state oil company Petroperu, Garcia's Cabinet chief announced a day after the scandal broke in Peruvian media. On Sunday, the news program Cuarto Poder broadcast audio of conversations allegedly between Alberto Quimper, vice president of state oil licensing company Perupetro, and a former government official from Garcia's APRA party, Leon Alegria discussing payments they would receive if Discover won oil concessions in an auction last month. Discover was awarded the bids in partnership with Petroperu to explore for oil on Peru's coastline and in the jungle of southern Madre de Dios. Garcia's Cabinet chief, Jorge del Castillo, announced Monday that Quimper had been fired and the contracts suspended. In another tape with Quimper, Alegria admits having been contracted by Discover to lobby for the concessions although admitting he can't figure to avoid suspicions. But that is why they need to contract "some bastard who speaks English and wears Italian ties", to represent the company, and for that purpose Ernesto Arias Schereiber last July was named to represent the Norwegian company. "The best way to respond to these atrocities and these rats is to immediately act to purge our government and our state from all acts of corruption" Alan Garcia said Sunday night. Gutierrez denied involvement with any irregularities and said he resigned to protect Petroperu and cooperate with an investigation into the company's dealings with Discover. "What we have done is associate ourselves with a qualified company to participate in the auction," he told state news agency Andina. "If people unrelated to us had economic pacts, it was absolutely unknown to me." Discover also said it was not involved in any alleged bribery. "We have never known about or been party to any payments like these," managing director Jostein Kjerstad said in a statement. Cuarto Poder said it was given tapes of the conversations by Fernando Rospigliosi, interior minister under former President Alejandro Toledo. Rospigliosi reportedly received them from an anonymous individual. Alegria a former Fisheries minister from president García first cabinet (1985/1990) is apparently distanced from politics but his daughter Luciana is a member of Congress from the ruling APRA.