When the Kudu gas field was discovered offshore Namibia in the early 1970s, Chevron jumped to the other side of the Atlantic to take acreage in Uruguay in a similar setting. It led to the drilling of Uruguay’s first couple of offshore wells Lobo X-1 and Gaviotin X-1 in shallow waters near the offshore border with Argentina. The results were disappointing even though subsequent analyses showed that hydrocarbons had migrated through the area.
Over the next decades, the focus was on acquiring seismic data until Uruguay launched the first formal bid round in 2008, which was followed by Round II in 2012. The second round was highly competitive and among the winners as operator were bp, Total, British Gas, Tullow and YPF.
Chevron has now acquired a stake in exactly the same area it drilled the first two wells in 50 years ago! It is certainly déja-vu for Chevron. The Americans acquired a 60% stake in Challenger Energy’s AREA OFF-1 in the Punta del Este Basin. Immediate work in the block involves a 3D seismic programme as part of the farm-in agreement in the next 18 months and this is expected to focus on two shelf margin prospects in the 550-800 m water depth range.
Challenger Energy Group plc (LON:CEG) is a Caribbean and Atlantic margin focused oil and gas company, with a range of petroleum assets located onshore in Trinidad and Tobago, and Suriname, and offshore in the waters of The Bahamas and Uruguay.
