Argentina has received bids from 13 companies worth US$995m in its offshore licensing round, the first open bid round for Argentinean offshore acreage in more than 20 years. A total of 38 shallow, deep and ultra-deep water offshore blocks were offered in the licensing round, which focused on the Austral (6 blocks), North Argentina (14) and Malvinas West (18) basins.
Norwegian state-held oil and gas company Equinor has been awarded 7 offshore exploration blocks and will operate 5 of them with a 100% stake (it will participate in one YPF-operated block with a 50% interest and in one Total-operated one with a 25% interest). Qatari state-run oil and gas firm Qatar Petroleum won five offshore blocks, including three blocks in the Malvinas basin (70% ExxonMobil, 30% Qatar Petroleum).
Exploration rights will be awarded to the highest bidders for 4 years with the option to extend for another 4, and winners may start drilling before the end of the first 4-year period; if they extend for a second 4-year period, they will have to start drilling wells within this period. Argentina's crude oil production has been declining since its 1998 peak of 43 Mt, down to 25 Mt in 2017, and exports have collapsed from 17 Mt in 1998 to 1.4 Mt in 2017. Meanwhile, oil product imports soared, from 1.5 Mt in 1998 to 7.4 Mt in 2017.
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