Uruguay, which has no oil or gas production, moved toward its busiest exploratory period on record when the ANCAP hydrocarbon agency received 19 bids in late March for 8 of the 15 Atlantic offshore exploration blocks it offered.
Most of the interest was in the deepwater Pelotas basin, but blocks in the Punta del Este and Oriental del Plata basins also drew bids, ANCAP said (see map, OGJ, May 18, 2009, p. 19).
Three of the blocks lie along Uruguay's marine boundary with Brazil, but they are 650 miles southwest of the Santos basin where Petrobras has discovered world class presalt oil resources.
Successful bidders were BG Group on blocks 8, 9, and 13, BP PLC on blocks 6, 11, and 12, Total SA on Block 14, and Tullow Oil PLC on Block 15. Contract term is 30 years with an optional 10-year extension.
Tullow's bid extends a 22% association in Oriental del Plata Block 15 to ANCAP. All other bids provided ANCAP with a 30-35% stake. ANCAP, which plans to sign the contracts by September 2012, also has the right to purchase all or part of any oil produced.
Total was the only successful bidder that proposed to drill at this stage, committing to one exploratory well, 6,690 sq km of 3D seismic, and 40 seabed samples on Block 14 in Oriental del Plata. All other winning bidders committed to 3D seismic surveys of 300 sq km or larger.
Besides the single exploratory well, the combined work programs on the eight blocks total 33,240 sq km of 3D seismic, 13,080 sq km of electromagnetic surveys, 130 seabed samples, and 3,000 km of 2D seismic within 3 years, ANCAP said.
Petrobras, YPF SA of Argentina, and Portugal's GALP already hold blocks 3 and 4 off Uruguay.
Uruguay land licensing
Onshore, meanwhile, YPF has signed a contract with ANCAP for reconnaissance exploration of a 10,000 sq km area of northernmost Uruguay.
The area is in Artigas, Salto, Tacuarembo, and Rivera provinces, along the borders with Argentina and Brazil. The contract is for 1 year with an optional second year. If initial work is promising, YPF could request an exploration and exploitation contract.
The minimum work program includes geochemical prospecting, petrographic and petrophysical research, reprocessing 500 line-km of 2D seismic, and reinterpretation of electric profiles.
Schuepbach Energy LLC, Dallas, will shoot 2D seismic surveys and drill research wells in two areas of Uruguay under production sharing contracts signed Feb. 10.
The work, under a 3-year exploratory period, is estimated to cost $10 million, according to ANCAP.
In two voluntary subsequent periods, Schuepbach could drill two exploratory wells each before returning half the acreage to ANCAP.
One contract area covers 10,000 sq km in Tacuarembo, Paysandu, and Durazmo provinces. The other covers 4,000 sq km in Salto Province.
Contract terms are 30 years, extendible by 10 years, with 25 years for development and production.
On its web site, Schuepbach says it has been active in Uruguay since 2009 with licenses totaling 2.4 million acres.
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