French energy giant Total signed on Tuesday a deal with Uruguay’s oil company Ancap to search for oil in the northern counties of Artigas and Salto in an area of 6.200 square kilometres.
Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras approved the sale of the company's stake in two oil prospects in Uruguay's Punta del Oeste Basin to Royal Dutch Shell Plc for 17 million dollars, according to a filing late on Friday. The two prospects are identified as Blocks 3 and 4.
Uruguay and Argentina presidents Jose Mujica and Cristina Fernandez seem to have ironed out differences, at least in public and in the pictures, during the inauguration of a gasoline and diesel de-sulphuring plant in Montevideo, which was financed with Venezuelan funds and Argentine technology.
The Uruguayan government announced the discovery of free hydrocarbons liquids in core samples next to source rocks in the northern county of Salto at a depth of 450 metres, which seems to be similar to another discovery two years ago.
The French oil and gas company Total confirmed that at the beginning of 2015 it will spud its first exploratory well in deep waters of the Uruguayan continental shelf, according to Juan Gomez, one of directors from the country’s fuel company Ancap.
The Uruguayan offshore platform continues to advance its global positioning and increase its economic value as the Irish firm Tullow Oil, which is currently conducting exploration work in Block 15 of the Uruguayan offshore platform, sold 30% of its stake in its exploration contract to leading Japanese oil company Inpex.
The Uruguayan government has signed offshore exploration and production deals with British oil firms BG Group, BP plc, Ireland’s Tullow Oil and France's Total. The companies awarded 30-year concession contracts in April for the eight oil blocks - three each for BG and BP and one each for Tullow and Total - have committed to investing a total of roughly 1.56 billion dollars.
France’s Total has been awarded an exploration licence for block 14 offshore Uruguay, following a second bid round staged by state-owned company ANCAP. Confirmation of the award is subject to further approval by Uruguayan authorities.
UK’s BP, BG Group, London-based Tullow Oil and French oil major Total were awarded a total of eight offshore blocks in an Uruguayan bidding round and will invest 1.56 billion dollars in exploration of those areas, state energy company Ancap announced.
Nine oil and gas companies have submitted 19 bids to explore for hydrocarbons off the coast of Uruguay, the state energy company Ancap said on Thursday.