On 16 May 2019, the Argentine government granted MLO-121 block to Equinor following the companyâs offer of USD 66.195 million in Round 1 of the countryâs offshore bid round that ended on 16 April 2019. Equinor will operate the block with 100% participating interest. Work program for the first exploration period is assumed to be limited to seismic work and possibly coring, as there is no drilling commitment required by the government for blocks offered in Round 1 until the second exploration period. Exploration target for the block is expected to be oil and gas in the Springhill Formation, which has not produced from any fields on the Malvinas Basin side in comparison to the adjacent Austral Basin side where several offshore gas fields are currently producing.  MLO-121 covers 4,293 sq km of deepwater area in Argentina Basin with approximated water depth between 50 to over 100 m.  Along with MLO-121, Equinor also received 100%-held operatorship on the blocks of AUS-105 and AUS-106 in Austral Basin, as well as CAN-108 block in Argentina Basin from Round 1. In addition, the company also won CAN-102 and CAN-114 in Argentina Basin in a partnership with YPF, along with MLO-123 block in Malvinas Basin as part of a consortium with YPF and operator Total.    Background Information    The Argentine government published Resolution 276/2019 on 16 May 2019 to award 18 blocks in Austral, Malvinas, and Argentina Basin from its Round 1 of its offshore bid round with a total committed investment of USD 724 million. An official resolution for granting the exploration permits is expected to be published on 1 August 2019, with official granting of the permits to follow within 15 days.
Equinor ASA received CAN-108 block from Round 1 offshore bid round, Argentina Basin