BZP Resources (BZP)

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SHELL & BZP UPDATE this Week ? 5 minutes ago LIMA, July 17 (Reuters) - BPZ Energy (BZP.A: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it may invest up to $600 million with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on energy projects in Peru, as the government encourages companies to develop oil and gas fields.

Shell could invest up to $300 million in natural gas explorations, while BPZ said it could invest the same amount in petroleum projects. The deal is expected to be ratified by the government in the next three months.

"The agreement with Shell is that they contribute $300 million in investment, mostly dedicated to natural gas," BPZ Energy President Manuel Zu@#$% told reporters.

Shell's investment would mark a return to Peru, which it left in 1998 after failing to reach an agreement with the government to develop Camisea, a rich natural gas field in southeast Peru. The project was later awarded to a consortium led by Argentina's Pluspetrol.