Eni approved to enter Uruguay's OFF-5 block and assume operatorship

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 28, Uruguay's state-owned oil company ANCAP, Eni, and YPF's MIWEN officially signed an agreement, completing the transaction for Eni's entry into Uruguay's offshore OFF-5 oil and gas exploration block. Uruguay's relevant authorities have approved the interest transfer, with Eni acquiring a 50% interest in the block and assuming operatorship, while MIWEN retains the remaining 50% interest and transitions to a non-operating partner.

This signing officially brought into effect the transaction reached between Eni and YPF in November 2025. At that time, Eni and YPF signed an agreement to acquire a 50% interest and operatorship in the OFF-5 block from MIWEN, with the transaction subject to regulatory approval from Uruguay. OFF-5 covers an area of 16,883 square kilometers, located approximately 200 kilometers off the coast of Uruguay, with water depths ranging from about 800 meters to 4,100 meters, and is currently in its first exploration period.

The original exploration and production contract for OFF-5 was signed between ANCAP and YPF on December 12, 2023. The first exploration sub-period spans four years, with related work including petroleum geological assessment, prospective resource evaluation, and 3D gravity and magnetic model inversion. According to ANCAP's latest data, the block is still undergoing oil and gas potential studies and analysis, and Eni will continue executing the exploration work already defined for the current phase after assuming operatorship.

The new phase of offshore oil and gas exploration launched by Uruguay in 2023 covers multiple blocks from OFF-1 to OFF-7. Under the contractual arrangements published by ANCAP, participating companies bear the risks, costs, and responsibilities of exploration activities, and can only obtain cost recovery under the contractual mechanism if commercial production is achieved. OFF-5 has not yet entered the exploration drilling stage, and the publicly disclosed baseline work has focused primarily on geological, resource, and geophysical evaluation.

Eni is also concurrently entering the adjacent OFF-6 block. The company has reached an agreement with APA Corporation to acquire a 40% interest in OFF-6; APA will retain a 60% interest and continue as operator. APA stated in its second-quarter 2026 results filing that Eni will fund the majority of the first exploration well in OFF-6, which is planned to be drilled in 2027.

When ANCAP updated the OFF-6 drilling plan in April this year, it indicated that the first exploration well is currently expected to commence drilling from September 2027, with relevant permits, operational logistics arrangements, and drilling equipment mobilization still required prior to implementation. The OFF-6 baseline exploration plan includes prospective resource evaluation, data licensing, and requires the drilling of one exploration well in water depths exceeding 2,500 meters.