In January 2018, the government of Salta Province announced its plan to hold a bid round for 15 blocks covering over 54,000 sq km of area in 2018. According to reports in late-March 2018, the province will offer the majority of the blocks in the initial round that is scheduled for 15 May 2018, with the remaining blocks to follow in a later round which is tentatively scheduled for July 2018.  The 15 available blocks were recently defined by the provincial government in November 2017, specifically via Resolution 37/17 by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Production of Salta that was published in the Official Gazette of the Province number 20.139. Most of the areas are located in the Noroeste and Tarija basins, with some located in the under explored Argentinean side of Chaco-Parana Basin, as well as one block in Puna Basin.            Block Name         Basin         Area             Algarrobal         Chaco-Parana Basin         9870.53             San Ignacio         Chaco-Parana Basin         7422.03             Santa Rosa         Chaco-Parana Basin         1793.00             Cuchuma         Noroeste Basin         9.20             Guayacan         Noroeste Basin         7671.45             Las Canitas         Noroeste Basin         1775.00             Lumbrera         Noroeste Basin         2.00             Ojo de Agua         Noroeste Basin         8427.11             Tolar Grande         Puna Basin         8461.00             Ipaguazu         Tarija Basin         185.85             Pichanal         Tarija Basin         4052.22             Pocoy         Tarija Basin         1174.58             San Carlos         Tarija Basin         2830.51             San Telmo         Tarija Basin         375.20             Yariguarenda         Tarija Basin         245.09        Â   Available areas in the Noroeste Basin include two blocks with abandoned oil fields, as well as three blocks with several plugged and abandoned (P&Aâd) wells. The Cuchuma and Lumbrera fields were both discovered and put on-stream in the early-1990s before they were abandoned in 1997. Last exploration wells drilled in Ojo de Agua, Las Canitas, and Guayacan blocks were Yatasto Oeste 1 from 1990, Chirete 1002ST from 1992, and Campo Libre 1 from 2010. All wells were dry with no oil and gas shows, and have been P&Aâd.  In Tarija Basin, the Yariguarenda block area includes the Tartagal Oeste field from 1997 that was abandoned in 2000 and the Nacatimbay gas field from 1996 that was abandoned in 2008. Meanwhile, the Ipaguazu block includes the Ipaguazu 1 oil and gas discovery from 1980. Last exploration wells drilled in Pocoy, Pichanal, and San Carlos blocks were Tranquitas 196 from 1955, Rio Piedras 2 from 1977, and Zenta El Diez 1ST3 from 2001, respectively, which all have been P&Aâd as well. No exploration well has been drilled in San Telmo block, although the area was partly covered by a 512 sq km 3D seismic survey from 1999.  In Chaco-Parana Basin, the Algarrobal block has a dry well Nuestra Senora de Talavera 1 that was P&Aâd in 1967, while the Santa Rosa block area includes Malvalay 1 well from 1983. Meanwhile, no exploration activity has been performed in San Ignacio block.  There is only one block available in Puna Basin, the Tolar Grande block, which also has no historical exploration activity.  It was said that all of the blocks will be offered in the first round, except for Cuchuma, Lumbrera, and San Carlos.   Officials from the government of Salta Province will be presenting at a forum hosted by IAPG (Instituto Argentino del Petroleo y del Gas) in Houston, Texas, USA to provide more information about the bid round on 10 April 2018, with bid documents expected to be available starting in early-May 2018.  Background Information    The last bid round in Salta Province took place in 2012 for the Ocultar, Pizarro, and Matorras blocks in the Noroeste Basin with the goal of increasing the province's oil and natural gas production as well as boosting reserves.
In January 2018, the government of Salta Province announced its plan to hold a bid round for 15 blocks covering over 54,000 sq km of area in 2018