The interest began after Challenger Energy Group was awarded a block by Ancap in 2020.
Four companies expressed interest in offshore oil exploration in Uruguay during 2022, among which are the Argentine state company YPFa consortium made up of APA and Shell, and Challenger Energy Group.
At the geological level, the shallow water area where Challenger Energy Group began the process of assignment of rights in 2022 together with the National Administration of Fuels, Alcohol and Portland (Ancap) for the exploration of the block would be analogous to the coasts of Namibiawhere Shell and TotalEnergies discovered hydrocarbons in the Cretaceous for more than 1,000 million barrels.
At the moment, Challenger Energy Group is advancing with its thirty-year license agreement OFF-1, 15,000km2 block, which it signed last year, and has advanced data work and a process of cession of rights to support a fast-track 3D seismic acquisition plan in 2024.
Faced with this, during 2022, three more companies showed interest in the Uruguayan coasts for offshore exploration. The Argentine state company, YPF, submitted a bid for the OFF-4 and OFF-5 areas, while a consortium made up of Shell and APA bid for the OFF-4 area.
The OFF-1 block for which Challenger Energy Group offered
After completing the volumetric evaluation of the three main prospects in the OFF-1 block (Anapero, Lenteja and Teru Teru), it is indicated that total oil in place is about 6.5 billion barrels.
From the oil company, which has already begun the formal transfer process through an advisor, they claim to have received “great interest” from industry players.
eytan ulielCEO of Challenger Energy, said: “We remain encouraged by the opportunity represented by our Area OFF-1 license in Uruguay, as it is”a world-class acreage with enormous resource potential“, which “has become a global exploration hotspot.”
Challenger Energy Group notes that the farmout process is structured to meet its business objective, which is to complete such a transaction before the end of 2023. The company believes that adding strategic partners during 2023 could accelerate the valuation of the block.
Source: Ambito
