LIMA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Peru is to tender 20 oil and natural gas lots for exploration/production licenses in April, the state-run company Perupetro said Tuesday.

    Perupetro president Daniel Saba said that the country is tendering the 20 lots in one pot instead of in two separate pots as previously planned.

    But the company has to delay the tendering, originally slated for January, because it needs further consultation with the indigenous people dwelling near the lots.

    These 20 lots are mostly located in the rainforests and along the northern coast.

    Perupetro has planned to promote these 20 lots at the coming North American Prospects Exhibition 2010, which runs from Feb. 10 to 12 in the U.S. city of Houston, Texas.

    "Peru will present the potential and geological information of the lots to various investors, and it will have a stand at the exhibition," Saba said.

    So far, Total and Exxon Mobil have shown interest in bidding for the lots on offer, according to Perupetro sources.

    Peru has a proven oil reserve of more than 1 billion barrels, with over half located in the country's central and northern jungles. One-tenth of the country's oil reserves are found along its northern coast.

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