Equinor begins seismic exploration in Austral, Malvinas basins
Equinor ASA began seismic exploration this week in the southern Argentine Sea, off the coast of the Patagonian province of Tierra del Fuego in the Austral and Malvinas basins.
The operator will work in Austral basin blocks 105 and 106 (AUS 105 and 106) and Malvinas West basin block 121 (MLO 121). Equinor will operate in partnership with Argentina’s YPF SA and Compañía General de Combustibles SA (CGC) in the Austral basin and as the sole operator in MLO.
The project area lies about 26 km from the nearest coastal city (Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego), and 22 km from the nearest continental coastal point. In total, 8,000 sq km of 3D seismic data is expected to be acquired through use of the BGP Prospector, the same vessel that completed work in the North Argentina basin (CAN 100) on Feb. 14.
The 2,129-sq km AUS105 block, the 2,160-sq km AUS106 block, and 4,283 sq-km MLO121 block all lie within the 200 nautical miles belonging to the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone.
Camilo Ciruzzi | South America Correspondent
Ciruzzi is a journalist based in the Argentine province of Río Negro. He has over 30 years of experience in radio and print media. Ciruzzi studied Communication Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires and specialized in energy, political economy, and finance.
