Once an employee of the company (originally Americans) was appointed supervisor, he and his family were relocated and entitled to one of the houses on a loan basis.

[5] General Juan Velasco Alvarado almost immediately ordered the seizure and nationalization of its operations and premises, creating Petroperú, in what was a symbolically important act for the new government.

During the 1970s, Punta Arenas retained certain American customs like Thanksgiving and Halloween until all the US citizens left or retired from Petroperú.

[citation needed] The 1980s economic crisis during Alan García's first government widened inequalities and caused resentment from low-income residents of Talara who saw Punta Arenas and its inhabitants as beneficiaries of special privileges.

Other benefits included transportation, free education, school materials, water, electricity and gas, which were attractive for anyone who accepted to relocate in a now-isolated[clarification needed] area of the country.

[citation needed] Talara refinery faced problems due to declining production and investments and falling oil prices.