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Argentina to offer offshore areas next July

BUENOS AIRES, December 14, 2017 – Argentina will hold an E&P licensing round for offshore acreage in July 2018, Minister of Energy and Mining Juan José Aranguren said on Wednesday.

“Argentina has one of the least explored areas in the world: its continental shelf,” the minister said at an event organised by the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas. He also said that the country’s hydrocarbons potential provided “a unique opportunity to attract investments to the country, and one of Argentina’s most important projects to extend the horizon of oil and gas reserves.”

The first offshore round, which is scheduled to open mid-year, will cover around 225,000 square kilometres in the northern Austral Platform, as well as the northern Argentine and western Malvinas basins. The Ministry of Energy and Mining is anticipating a proposal deadline of November 2018, with awards to be delivered before the end of that year.

“This first stage will be followed in 2019 by a second round, which will incorporate the southern Argentine Basin, which has an approximate area of 120,000 square kilometres,” Minister Aranguren added.

Argentina currently has only two offshore developments, both in the Austral Basin. State-owned YPF has been working with Chile’s Enap Sipetrol at the Magallanes field since 1994, and Total’s Vega Pléyade project came on line in February 2016.

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