MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay sets oil exploration licensing round timetable

Uruguay has approved the legal framework and timetable for a round of hydrocarbons exploration licensing, offshore, which will have a first presentation next December. The round is based on the encouraging results of seismic surveying and the interest shown by several global oil corporations, according to the Uruguayan government.

The May 12 license round decree states that the oil industry interest is the result of the data collected during 2007 with the seismic surveying undertaken by a Norwegian company Wavefield and which two weeks ago was delivered to the country's government owned oil and gas corporation Ancap. "Primary results indicate that geological structures could contain the presence of hydrocarbons". In November 2006 Uruguay had invited oil companies to present hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation contracts in the country's continental shelf. However last March the timetable of the decree was reviewed and extended until July 2009, based on the fact that "surveying of the area to be licensed continues". Wavefield surveyed 7.500 square kilometers of Uruguay's continental shelf and later reviewed another 2.800 which were the most promising according to the 2D data available. This area is apparently some 180 miles offshore. "The government's strategy is to give potential interested parties sufficient time to collect all the information needed so they can participate in the bidding process. Next December we will invite interested corporations and with the data collected they will then have until mid 2009 to present their proposals", said German Riet vice president of Ancap's board. Previous to this first round Uruguayan officials from Ancap will visit United States and Brazil and will be participating in oil industry events such as the world petroleum congress scheduled in Madrid and the Geologists association meeting in Rome.