Publicado: 19/09/2017
On September 18th, 2017 at 8.00 am, at Norris Conference Centers - CityCentre, Houston, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) and the Uruguayan National Oil Company, ANCAP, launched the Uruguay Round 3, a bidding process for awarding areas for hydrocarbon exploration and production offshore Uruguay. This event counted with the participation of more than 100 representatives of the oil industry.
The Uruguayan delegation was integrated by the Deputy Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Guillermo Moncecchi, ANCAP’s CEO, Ignacio Horvath, ANCAP´s E&P Manager, Héctor de Santa Ana, ANCAP´s Head of E&P Administration and Contracts, Santiago Ferro, ANCAP´s Head of Geoscience, Pablo Gristo, and ANCAP´s E&P Professional Natalia Blánquez. During the event, ANCAP’s team presented the bidding Round terms of the Uruguay Round 3, the main features of the contract model, the petroleum geology offshore Uruguay and the exploration activities developed in Uruguay.
The Road Show was a success, taking into account that a great number of companies covered not only the Road Show but also requested individual Data Rooms. These indicators reflect the interest that the international oil sector shows towards the Uruguay Round 3. Additionally, the representatives of the different companies remarked the clarity and professionalism of the presentations.
Several of the top world oil companies attended the Road Show in Houston, as Anadarko, Apache, Hess, Nexen-CNOOC, Lukoil, Cobalt, Kosmos Energy, Conoco Phillips, Chevron, Noble Energy, Murphy Oil, ONGC Videsh, Talos Energy and Frontera Energy, among others.
The meeting was also attended by specialized press, consultant firms and services companies such as CGG, Spectrum, EMGS, ION, PGS, AGI, TGS, Geokinetics, Polarcus, Drilling Info, Schlumberger, Actus Veritas Geoscience, Technip, Petromarker, IHS and RPS.
ANCAP will offer Data Rooms to interested companies from September 18th to 22nd, 2017, at Hotel Sorella in CityCenter, Houston. Data Rooms are sessions between ANCAP and oil companies in which oil companies are allowed to visualize available geological and geophysical data (2D seismic and 3D, electromagnetism, wells logs, grav and mag, etc) of offshore Uruguayan basins, with the aim of giving the oil companies a first impression of the hydrocarbon potential offshore Uruguay.
Uruguay Round 3 Official Announcement in London will be held next October 20th, at Canning House. In this occasion, there will also be data room sessions from the 18th to 24th.
Bidding round terms and contract model of Uruguay Round 3 are of similar characteristics to those of the successful Uruguay Round II, but with more flexible requirements regarding the qualification of oil companies and with regards to the required exploratory program for each area, taking into consideration the current situation of the oil and gas industry. With the aim of promoting the participation of independent oil companies focused on exploratory operations, the possibility of qualification for the Exploratory Period only, is incorporated, with technical and economic requirements significantly different.
Seventeen areas are offered in the 3 offshore basins, with bathymetries ranging from 50m to more than 4,000m of water depth. Areas will be divided in Type I, Type II and Type III according to water depth. Exploratory Period will have a term of 8 years for Type I and Type II areas and of 10 years for Type III areas. The contract term including the Exploitation Period is 30 years, which could be extended 10 additional years.
The deadline for the submission of documents for the qualification of oil companies is April 6th, 2018 and the opening of offers is on April 26th, 2018.
This processes began in 2007 with the creation of the Exploration and Production Department of ANCAP, which carried out Uruguay Round 2009, from which the first 2 E&P contracts offshore Uruguay were signed after 30 years without any activity of exploration of hydrocarbons.
Afterwards, ANCAP launched the Uruguay Round II in 2012, tender from which 8 E&P contracts were subscribed and historical investments in exploration of hydrocarbons were committed. This process set Uruguay in an outstanding position in the world oil and gas map. As a result, very valuable information was obtained, increasing the geological and geophysical knowledge of our basins, with investments of more than 1000 million dollars from international oil companies. Uruguay Round II was considered by the industry, operators, consultants and international specialists as a transparent process, aligned with the world situation, and this experience resulted of interest for other countries.
With the objective of continuing this process for incrementing the knowledge of our hydrocarbon resources offshore, ANCAP and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining decided to promote “Uruguay Round 3”, process of very similar characteristics than the previous ones.
For additional information please contact us at info@rondauruguay.gub.uy
