Peru plans to lower the royalty payments it receives from oil companies by July in order to help them survive the oil price crisis and might allow some to postpone part of their payments, the country’s energy agency, Perupetro, said, Reuters reported. Twenty-nine companies with exploratory contracts and three with extractive rights have declared force majeure as the drop in oil price has sapped profit and financing in recent years, said Rafael Zoeger, the president of Perupetro. Crude oil prices have dropped about 70% from the 2014 high over $100 barrel. Current prices at around $30 barrel have triggered spending cuts as oil companies slash investment in new wells.
