The government authorized state oil company YPF to transfer 50 percent of an offshore exploration licence to the Norwegian firm Equinor, with the Resolution 55/2020 of the Energy Secretariat published in the Official Gazette.
Last August, YPF and Equinor signed an agreement for the exploration of the Argentine offshore through their association in the CAN 100 block, located in the Cuenca Argentina Norte.
The agreement determined the main terms and conditions for the transfer of 50 percent of YPF's participation in the CAN 100 block, which will allow both companies to expand their alliance in the exploration of the Argentine offshore.
Prior to that, in May 2019, the Ministry of Energy and YPF signed the Reconversion Agreement Act by which the company acquired 100 percent ownership of the CAN 100 block and thus began the first exploratory period of four years.
The area has a 15,000 square kilometers surface area, making it the largest in the basin, and with great potential.
Equinor and YPF are currently partners in two offshore blocks in the Cuenca Argentina Norte, CAN 102 and CAN 114, which were awarded in the last bidding round conducted by the previous government and in which 18 blocks were awarded in total.
Equinor also participates with 50 percent in the Bajo del Toro Block, of 157 square kilometers, in the unconventional hydrocarbons area Vaca Muerta, through an agreement signed in January 2018 with YPF.
It also owns 90 percent of the Bajo del Toro Este Block as an operator in association with Gas y Petróleo de Neuquén (GyP).
In addition, in August last year, the Norwegian firm also signed an agreement with YPF Luz for the development of the Cañadón León wind farm in the province of Santa Cruz.
