The Republica Dominicanaâs Ministerio de Energia y Minas (MEM) is planning a second bid round, which will offer the blocks from the 1st Licensing Round that did not receive a bid, as well as areas proposed by interested companies. More details have not been released. Dominican Republic 1st Licensing Round was closed in late November 2019 and received one offer from Apache Dominican Republic Corporation for offshore Block SP2. The signed final contract will be submitted to the National Congress for approval.   MEM announced in early November 2019 that Apache Dominican Republic Corporation qualified to participated in the round for four blocks. On 21 October 2019 one more offshore block was added to the round - SP5, bringing the blocks to 15. Information on this block is still pending. On 11 October 2019 MEM extended the deadline to submit qualification documents to 5 November 2019, original date was mid-October 2019. In mid-September 2019, MEM published the procedures for submission and verification pre-qualification documents for the upcoming bid round.   On 10 July 2019 MEM unveiled in Houston, the 15 blocks offered â 10 Onshore and five offshore. Publication of qualified companies will be on 8 November 2019, with winnerâs announcement on 27 November 2019. The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) model will be used in the round, which is will conclude in December 2019. The exploration period for onshore is eight years, and for offshore 10-years. Below the list of the blocks offered:          Basin            Blocks            Seismic            Wells Drilled            Prospectivity               Â       Â       Â       Cibao            CB1            Â       Â       Â       ~630 km 2D            Â       Â       Â       16 - MD 1,000-12,000 ft            Four wells with gas shows, Two oil seeps               CB2            At least three plays in the basin               CB3            Several potential prospects               CB4                   CB5                CB6         Â                Â       Â       Enriquillo            EN1            Â       Â       ~1,000 km 2D            Â       Â       Nine wells - MD 500-15,800 ft            Nine wells drilled               EN2            Basin with the most seismic coverage on the   island               EN3            At least three plays in the basin               Â             Several undrilled prospects identified               Â       Â       Azua            AZ1            Â       Â       ~40 km 2D            Â       Â       58 wells - MD 300-13,000 ft            Proved petroleum system with two existing   fields - Maleno and Higuerito                   At least three plays in the basin             Â             Several oil seeps in the central part of the   basin               Â       Â       San Pedro de Macoris            SP1            Â       Â       ~1,900 km 2D            Â       Â       Three wells            Proved petroleum system with oil shows in the   onshore part of the basin               SP2            At least three plays in the basin               SP3            San Pedro -1, showed paraffin and light oil   with 30Â° API               SP4            Â           Â   Below MEMâs issued timeline, in red the latest change:          Roashow Launching Stage            Start Day            End Day            Duration               Roadshow                         Houston          7/10/2019            10/7/2019            1 Day               Clarification Stage                         Companies Qualification         7/10/2019            5/11/2019            18 weeks               Document Review            15/07/2019            8/11/2019            19 weeks               Publication of Qualified Companies            8/11/2019            8/11/2019            1 day               Competitive Process                         Questions on process and documents         10/7/2019            15/11/2019            19 weeks               Block observations            10/4/2019            13/09/2019            10 weeks               Final Block List            21/10/2019            21/10/2019            1 day               Answers and MEM settings            22/07/2019            22/11/2019            18weeks               Offer preparation            10/7/2019            22/11/2019            20 weeks               Bid Round            27/11/2019            27/11/2019            1 day               Preparation of documents for signature            27/11/2019            17/01/2020            8 weeks               Contract Signature            27/11/2019            17/01/2020            8 weeks          MEM - Timeline  In June 2019 MEM officially announced its plans for the countryâs first bid round with 14 blocks. The onshore blocks are located - Cibao Basin: Six Enriquillo Basin: 3, and Azua Basin: 1. Four blocks will be offer offshore in the San Pedro Basin. The Roadshow will take place in Houston on 10 July 2019.   The Base Nacional de Datos de Hidrocarburos (BNDH), the national digital archive which contains geological and geophysical information for the country starting in 1903 till 2013 was developed by a third party and presented in 2016. It has 21,500 km of seismic lines, 1,490 maps and plans, 805 seismic profiles, 212 wells â which the ministry estimates it has an acquisition cost of USD 145 million. The MEM identified six potential zones for hydrocarbons, the basins: Enriquillo, Azua, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Ocoa and Cibao Oriental.  Background Information  In early December 2018 the Minister of Energy and Mines signed USD 1.07 million contract with a consulting company for the evaluation, planning, promotion and execution of a Bid Round for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. The tender to hire consulting services was first announced in May 2018, with nine companies from five countries presenting proposals -âThe country has to make the leap to reduce its dependence on oil imports in all ways and one of the most important is to promote the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, especially gas, both for its economic and environmental benefitsâ, said the Minister Antonio Isa Conde.   The Minister of MEM Antonio Isa Conde presented in late August 2018 the âInformes de Trabajos 2014-2018â, which reports the work that has been done since the creation of the ministry in 2013.     The first      hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation regulation were issued in 2016      through the decrees 83-16. The contract for exploration and production of      hydrocarbons was issued in early May 2018. According to the contract, the exploration period of the      contracted area may be up to six (6) years following the signing of the      contract and may be extended for up to four (4) additional one-year      periods. Modification of this term and its extensions shall be authorized      by decree. The exploitation period of the Contracted Area may be for up to      twenty (20) years and a maximum of two (2), five-year extensions each. The      first extension may be requested upon reaching seventy-five percent (75%)      of. the term of the contract granting the rights for the exploration and      exploitation of Hydrocarbons, Oil Reservoirs or other Hydrocarbon substances,      while the second extension may be requested when fifty percent (50%) of      the term of the first one has elapsed.           Background Information  In early June 2011, no additional information had been received concerning a possible bid round in 2011. In September 2010, the Industry and Trade Industry's Mining Department director, Octavio Taveras, announced that the Dominican Republic planned to launch an international oil exploration round in 2011. The announcement follows reports of a new oil seep in Higuey, La Altagracia province in the eastern part of the country. GHGeochem in the UK analyzed samples and reported that the oil seep is better quality than that found in Azua province. An assistance agreement is being finalized with MDOIL whereby the company will help characterize potential hydrocarbon bearing sedimentary basins in the country including the exclusive economic zone. The declaration follows a late 2009 announcement made by the department that Madrid's Complutense University found traces of natural gas in marine sediments in an area known as the Muertos Trough offshore. The Directorate is waiting for authorization from the president to sign a contract with MDOIL which hopes to expand the study to include all the basins in the country and to correlate them with the previous data.   In early September 2010, there were no tenders planned for oil and gas exploration. Interested companies can approach the ministry directly concerning any of the seven identified basins. The onshore areas that have been outlined as potential opportunities are in Bahoruco, Samana, Azua and Maria Trinidad Sanchez provinces, and offshore in Ocoa and Samana Bays and Banco de la Plata. However, the country's 1958 hydrocarbons law must be updated as the regulatory framework is not clearly defined and does not attract investors.
Following its prequalification under the 1st round, Apache has been pre-awarded offshore block SP2 in the San Pedro de Macoris Basin.