In the recitals of the regulations, it was stated that “several companies in their capacity as operators, owners or representatives of companies holding exploration permits, requested the suspension of the term of the first exploration period.”
The requests were based on the fact that “the exploration of hydrocarbons in offshore areas is carried out mainly through the acquisition of seismic to know the potential of the hydrocarbon resources that are available in a certain place.”
This entails “the contracting of ships specially designed to carry it out, whose availability depends on the level of activity, logistics of the operation and weather windows, among other variables” that experienced delays as a result of the restrictions on international transit due to the pandemic in 2020 and part of 2021.
For these reasons, Energy considered it “advisable” to grant “a reasonable term for carrying out the pending activities and their subsequent interpretation and technical and economic evaluation.”
The three areas were awarded in May 2019, within the framework of an award process of 18 areas for a total of US$724 million.
For the MLO 123 area, Total Austral, Equinor and YPF offered US$44.465 million, while for CAN 111, the joint venture between Total Austral and BP offered US$17.38 million.
Source: Ambito
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