On 5 September 2019, the Argentine government granted an exploration permit for CAN-107 offshore block to a partnership of Shell and Qatar Petroleum through the publication of Resolution 524/2019 in the nationâs official gazette following the preliminary award of the block in May 2019 as a result of the Argentina Round 1 offshore bid round. Shell is the operator with 60% participating interest, while Qatar Petroleum holds the remaining 40%. Work program in the first exploration period of four years consists of 2D seismic reprocessing of 898 km, 2D seismic acquisition of 5,542 km, multibeam acquisition of 5,501 sq km, along with drilling for 60 core samples, followed by a drilling commitment for one well in the second exploration period of another four years. An optional third exploration period of five years is possible, although accompanied by a 50% partial relinquishment.   CAN-107 covers 8,347 sq km of offshore deepwater area (as designated by the Argentine Secretary of Energy) in Argentina Basin with approximated water depth of up to 1,400 m. The block was formerly part of state company YPFâs E-1 block (or ENARSA 1) before said concession was reduced in late-2017/early-2018 prior to the bid round.  Shell and Qatar Petroleum won the rights for the block after submitting a joint offer of USD 8.49 million at the end of offshore Round 1 in April 2019. The CAN-107 area is relatively unexplored with no discoveries or significant wells other than two wells that were drilled and P&Aâd with oil & gas shows by Union Texas in CAN-109 in the mid-1990âs.  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. Granting of exploration permits from the round was originally expected to be published in early-August 2019 with signing of the permits to follow within 15 days.
Argentina, not found