Eni adds acreage offshore Argentina to its portfolio

The Argentinian authorities have officially awarded the exploration license of offshore block MLO 124 to an Eni-led consortium.

Eni said on Monday that the award is the outcome of the consortium’s successful bid in the International Bid Round “Ronda Costa Afuera n. 1” held on April 16, 2019.

A total of 38 blocks were on offer in the licensing round, the first open bid round for Argentinean offshore acreage in more than 20 years.

Block MLO 124 is located offshore in the Cuenca Marina Malvinas (the Malvinas Basin), some 100 kilometers off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, and encompasses an area of 4,418 square kilometers in water depths ranging from less than 100 to 650 meters.

Eni holds 80% working interest and is the operator of a consortium, which also includes Tecpetrol S.A. and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., with 10% each.

The activity to be completed during the four years of the First Phase of the Exploration Period mainly consists in a 3D geophysical survey covering the entire block and other geophysical potential field surveys.

Eni has been present in Argentina since 1991 with its subsidiary Eni Argentina Exploración y Explotación S.A., which owns a 30% working interest in the offshore concession “Tauro-Sirius”, located in Tierra del Fuego’s shallow water.

It is worth reminding that ExxonMobil increased holdings in Argentina after its subsidiary ExxonMobil Argentina Offshore Investments and an affiliate of Qatar Petroleum won three exploration blocks during Argentina’s first offshore bid round. The award added approximately 2.6 million net acres to its existing holdings in Argentina. ExxonMobil was named the operator of the blocks with a 70 percent working interest and a Qatar Petroleum affiliate was awarded the remaining 30 percent.

Furthermore, Norwegian Equinor added seven offshore exploration blocks in Argentina to its portfolio – five as the operator and two as a partner – as part of the country’s first Offshore Licensing Round.

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