The results of the tender process for the acquisition of 2D seismic, gravimetric and magnetometric data by ANCAP are now official. ANCAP selected the proposal of the geophysical services provider Reflect Geophysical Pte. Ltd., awarded between five international companies that presented proposals. This is an exclusive seismic survey and its information can be sold by ANCAP to the interested companies. ANCAP will sign a contract with Reflect Geophysical for around five million dollars worth.

The survey covers a wide area of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Uruguayan offshore, from shallow waters (20 meters depth) at 50 km coast away, until deep waters (2,500 meters depth).

The survey will be carried out from March to May 2011, with at least a crew change and provisioning port call of the seismic vessel R/V Reflect Aries at Montevideo during that period.

The geophysical data to be obtained by Reflect adds to other contracts that ANCAP signed to improve the knowledge of the Uruguayan basins. ANCAP signed a contract with the international company Fugro for the provision of geophysical services covering a high resolution aero-magnetic survey of Pelotas, Punta del Este and Oriental del Plata offshore basins. In addition, ANCAP already holds multi-client agreements with CGG Veritas for near 12.000 Km of 2D seismic data (acquired from 2002 to 2008), and has signed an agreement with ION/GXT for the acquisition, processing and interpretation of seismic data offshore, the so-called UruguaySPAN (seismic data that will link the Uruguayan basins with the neighboring offshore basins in Brazil and Argentina).

All this large amount of data will be useful to enhance the knowledge of the offshore basins, as well as identifying leads and prospects in the Uruguay offshore, and therefore, will be particularly interesting and helpful for the oil companies that are evaluating the exploration opportunities in Uruguay.

The Uruguay Round II is based on the promising Uruguay Round 2009 that opened in Uruguay a new industrial area for development. In 2009 ANCAP, the National Oil Company, successfully launched the Uruguay Round 2009, for the awarding of exploration and exploitation areas offshore Uruguay, signing two contracts for two areas with a consortium formed by Petrobras, YPF and Galp.

Tags: ANCAP