Uruguay Poised to Probe for Offshore Oil

Bloomberg Línea

The discovery of offshore oil has changed the fortunes of many countries, with Guyana the most recent example: the South American nation is the economy with the highest growth rate in the world thanks to the discovery of large reserves of the fossil fuel. And with much more modest hopes in this regard, but hopes nonetheless, some believe that there may also be oil offshore iUruguay, and a report by a major US investment bank has backed that belief.

A BCP Securities report, prepared by analyst Walter Molano, highlights that Uruguay’s National Fuel, Alcohol and Port Administration (Ancap) is in the final stages of granting seven offshore exploration licenses worth up to $200 million, and which have attracted global companies such as Shell.
“Although Uruguay has not yet found oil or gas in its waters, geological similarities with Namibia have raised hopes,” said Molano, who was nonetheless cautious about the prospects.
In January 2022 the oil industry was surprised with the announcement of two important offshore discoveries in Namibia, off the coast of South Africa, and which raised the hopes of both Uruguay and Argentina.

Shell first announced the discovery of light oil in Graff-1, estimating a total volume of hydrocarbons in the field, which could contain one billion barrels of oil. In February, Total made the news by announcing another significant oil discovery at the Venus-1 well, drilled a few kilometers from Graff.

Venus could contain up to three billion barrels of oil.

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