Peru energy minister quits over scandal

[Judi Lynn]

Peru energy minister quits over scandal
Mon Oct 6, 2008 11:18am EDT

By Teresa Cespedes

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's mines and energy minister, Juan Valdivia, said on Monday he has resigned over a scandal that involved steering oil concessions to favored bidders.

The departure of Valdivia, who has worked to lure billions in foreign investment to the country's vast mining sector and growing petroleum industry, comes as two other high-ranking energy officials were forced from their jobs.

"Yes, the president has accepted my resignation," Valdivia told Reuters.

Alberto Quimper, a board member of the state energy agency Perupetro, which organizes auctions of exploration lots, and Cesar Gutierrez, president of state oil and gas company Petroperu, were both fired, the country's official gazette said.

The scandal was exposed late on Sunday when an audio tape surfaced on an investigative TV news show that included a conversation between Quimper and Romulo Leon, a prominent member of President Alan Garcia's APRA party, in which they apparently agreed to favor Discover Petroleum of Norway in a round of energy auctions.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE4954UF20081006?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=reutersEdge&rpc=401

Garcia can't afford any more negativity toward his government, as he is at least as unpopular with Peru as is _{George W. Bush} here. Garcia was the man _Bush ultimately backed but hard against the progressive Presidential candidate, Ollanta Humala.