Challenger Energy Group PLC has been awarded the AREA OFF-3 license about 100 km offshore Uruguay by Uruguayan national regulatory agency Administración Nacional de Combustibles Alcohol y Pórtland (ANCAP).
The block has a current estimated resource potential of up to 500 MMboe and up to 9 tcf of gas as determined from multiple exploration plays.
AREA OFF-3 covers a total area of 13,252 sq km in water depths of 20-1,000 m. Prospects of interest are in relatively modest water depths of about 250 m. The area has no production wells. Seismic activity includes about 4,000 km of legacy 2D and about 7,000 km of 3D. Two material-sized prospects have previously been identified and mapped on the block.
The company expects that the remaining process for all remaining approvals, finalization, and formal signing of license documentation will take about 3-4 months, at which point the initial 4-year exploration period of the license will begin.
The block was previously held by bp who relinquished it in 2016.
