STATOIL

Exploring Argentina’s Vast Riches STATOIL

PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

// Norwegian company Statoil has been pushing the boundaries of imagination and technology since 1972 to solve challenges in the oil and gas industry, and help it deliver oil, gas and wind power to fuel the lives of more than 170 million people each day. It has just entered into an agreement with Argentina’s leading energy company, YPF, to jointly explore hydrocarbons in the Bajo del Toro block in the Neuquén Basin onshore Argentina.

It enters the exploration permit in the Neuquén Basin as a partner with a 50% participating interest alongside operator YPF, which retains the other half, while in acknowledgement of the costs incurred to date by YPF Statoil will fund in their entirety certain future activities within the block. Located in the Neuquén Basin in the west-central part of Argentina, the Bajo del Toro exploration permit covers an area of 157 km2, the main target of which is the Vaca Muerta formation. Statoil’s quest has already taken it to greater depths, deeper waters and new frontiers, and this is another, representing as it does Statoil’s first ever foray into Argentina.

22 / www.emea-energy.net “Bringing a new international player like Statoil into the country shows confidence in Vaca Muerta as a promising shale play and in YPF as a leading operator. We are pleased to expand the cooperation between both companies”, underlined YPF Chairman, Miguel Angel Gutierrez. Argentina’s unconventional oil and gas resources are among the world’s largest and the Neuquén province is the country’s most prolific hydrocarbon basin, with Vaca Muerta expected to host major deposits of tight oil and shale gas. Statoil’s executive vice president for Exploration Tim Dodson said of the agreement: “This is a light oil exploration project in a world-class unconventional resource play, the Vaca Muerta formation. The opportunity has an excellent fit with Statoil’s sharpened strategy, and is in line with our exploration strategy of delivering profitable, high-quality resources.

“We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with YPF, the leading player in the Neuquén Basin, and look forward to work closely with them to unlock the potential in the Bajo del Toro block.” Statoil entered its first license in South Africa in 2015, acquiring a 35% interest in the ExxonMobiloperated Tugela South Exploration Right, to which it has recently added participating interests in two additional offshore frontier blocks, including one operatorship. These comprise a 35% interest in Exploration Right 12/3/252 Transkei-Algoa with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production South Africa Limited, a transaction with OK Energy Ltd to acquire a 90% interest and operatorship in the Exploration Right 12/3/257 East Algoa. The license covers approximately 45,000 and 9,300 square kilometres respectively.

“These transactions strengthen Statoil’s position in South Africa and our long-term exploration portfolio. This is in line with our global exploration strategy of early access in basins with high potential,” concluded Nick Maden, senior vice president for exploration in the southern hemisphere.

STATOIL

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