Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 -- Apache Corp. said it won the right to explore for energy in two regions on the Chilean side of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the Magellan region at the southern tip of South America.
The rights will give Apache an additional 1 million acres alongside a 714,000-acre prospecting region it already controls on Argentina's side of the island region.
Apache will split its interest in one of the Chilean zones, known as Lenga, with Empresa Nacional del Petroleo, the country's national oil company.
Apache will have a 100% stake in the larger region, Rusfin. The company said it plans to spend $18.3 million during the first phase of exploration.
In mid-November, Chile awarded oil and gas exploration and production rights to foreign companies that will invest at least $267 million each in the southern Magellan region (OGJ Online, Nov. 16, 2007).
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].