Uruguay’s offshore blocks went from zero to fully licensed in under three years, committing material work programs estimated at $233 million.
Uruguay emerges as a new frontier in offshore energy, drawing renewed interest in oil and gas exploration amidst its long-term green hydrogen goals. With its offshore acreage receiving exploratory attention for the first time, Uruguay’s emergence has been swift, with Eytan Uliel, CEO of Challenger Energy, noting that within 18 months, the country has secured licenses from major global energy players. This shift follows the discovery by TotalEnergies and Shell of significant oil reserves off Namibia’s coast in 2022, which sparked hopes for Uruguay, given the geological similarities between the two regions. Santiago Ferro of Ancap suggests that this development has doubled the probability of finding oil and/or gas off Uruguay’s coast to 5-25%.
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.
