Argentine oil company Pan American Energy has bought 35% stakes from Spanish company Repsol YPF in offshore blocks 40 and 46 in the Malvinas basin some 450km east of Tierra del Fuego, Argentine press reported.
"It's a part of our normal operations policy. We have operations in mature fields and we are always looking for opportunities in new formations that have not been explored," Pan American's public affairs VP Mario Calafell told BNamericas.
The blocks cover an area of some 6,500 sq. km. and are considered high-risk due to depths greater than 500 meters and difficult geological conditions, Calafell said, without indicating how much the deal was worth.
Repsol YPF still operates both blocks, but the move reduces its stake in block 40 to 65%, and to 34% in block 46, where Pan American and France's Total own respective 35% and 31% stakes, newspaper El Cronista reported.
In 2004, the companies plan to invest US$15mn to carry out 3D seismic to define drilling prospects and decide where to drill the first exploratory well sometime in 2005, Calafell said.
Going forward, Pan American is "always exploring alternatives for associations and/or buying new areas, but this is not part of a larger operation rather a single operation in itself."
Nevertheless, there are "very good" opportunities for exploration in offshore Argentina at the moment.
Pan American also has a stake in the Cuenca Marina Austral (CMA) offshore near Tierra del Fuego. The UK's BP owns 60% of Pan American Energy and Argentina's Bridas owns 40%
