In 1985, Perenco began its expansion into the upstream business, acquiring several proven onshore oil and gas fields in the United States, applying secondary-recovery techniques to enhance production.

[2] While Perenco's growth has been driven by acquisitions, the Group's strategy evolved rapidly towards increasing production and reserves, renewing licenses and securing additional acreage for new exploration and development opportunities.

Perenco owns 50% and operates the on-stream El Franig, Baguel, and Tarfa gas condensate fields in central Tunisia.

[citation needed] Production from the El Franig and Baguel fields is transported to the central processing facility in Oum-Chiah via 120 km of pipeline.

Condensate is transferred to the La Skhira terminal for export, and gas is delivered to the Gabes plant for domestic consumption.

They offer a range of play types, prospects and leads, some of which are analogous to the Thylacine and Geographe fields in the Otway basin.

[16] Perenco also holds a 33% interest in AC/P45 and 40% in AC/P44 in the Browse Basin of the NW shelf with the remainder held by Finder Exploration, who retain operatorship.

[18] In 2020, Perenco faced allegations that it used local authorities to repress the communities of Tabasco and landowners who refused to accept the contracts it had imposed.

[20] In December 2016, Perenco acquired the Teak, Samaan and Poui (TSP) fields offshore the south-east coast of Trinidad from Repsol.

"[21] Perenco operates five compression hubs/gas gathering platforms with their connecting pipelines to the Bacton Gas Terminal on the Norfolk coast.

In 2011 it acquired the onshore Wytch Farm oilfield from BP, as part of a shared venture, while maintaining full operatorship.

[24] In 2024, the Guardian revealed that Perenco repeatedly missed by many years agreed official deadlines to decommission ageing North Sea oil wells at a cost of up to £8m each, creating major fire and environmental risks.

[citation needed] Perenco operates approximately 200 wells and seven production gathering stations within a 100 km long zone.

Anadarko had acquired Basic, which operated oilfields that produced about 20,000 bbl/d in the Rubelsanto and the Xan regions in northern Guatemala, when it purchased Union Pacific Resources Co. in 2000 (Perenco Group, 2001).

[33] In February 2014, Perenco and the Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA entered into talks for a $600 million financing deal to boost production at their Petrowarao joint venture.

[36] In April 2023 an oil spill occurred in Poole Harbour, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, at Perenco's Wytch Farm facility.

[39][40] The Environment Agency (EA) declared a major incident had occurred[37] while Perenco faced criticism from climate activists, local politicians and the interim leader of the BCP Council.

[41] Through water samples, the EA determined that the spill was contained to the area closest to Shotover Moor and did not significantly impact the rest of the harbour.

According to the journalism consortium, the group operates in 74 protected areas across the globe and is responsible for over 400 cases of air and water pollution as of December 2023.

[43] Perenco's subsidiary office in Erbil was closed in mid-2013 and there is no longer exploration and/or activities ongoing in Northern Iraq Kurdistan.