On 16 May 2019, the Argentine government granted CAN-114 block to Equinor following the companyâs offer of USD 47.42 million in Round 1 of the countryâs offshore bid round that ended on 16 April 2019. Equinor will operate the block with 50% participating interest, with state company YPF as partner with the remaing 50%. Work program for the first exploration period is assumed to be limited to seismic work, as there is no drilling commitment required by the government for blocks offered in Round 1 until the second exploration period. The CAN-114 block 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.    CAN-114 covers 7,085 sq km of ultra-deepwater area in Argentina Basin with approximated water depth between 1,500 to 4,000 m.  Along with CAN-114, Equinor also partners with YPF in CAN-102 in Argentina Basin, as well as MLO-123 block in Malvinas Basin as part of a consortium with YPF and operator Total from Round 1. Equinor also received 100%-held operatorship on the blocks of AUS-105 and AUS-106 in Austral Basin, CAN-108 in Argentina Basin, as well as MLO-121 block in Malvinas Basin.  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-114 block from Round 1 offshore bid round, Argentina Basin