Uruguay’s Offshore Oil Province Could Be Bigger Than Vaca Muerta

Companies are gearing up for exploration drilling in deepwater blocks offshore Uruguay in the hope that the South Atlantic margin offshore South America could hold a lot of oil, similar to the recent discoveries offshore Namibia in Africa. Uruguay, with a limited exploration drilling history of three wells spudded, all dry, has attracted the interest of many international companies that look to find the next billion-barrel oil province. Companies including Shell, Chevron, Eni, APA, QatarEnergy, and Argentina’s YPF have acquired the rights to drill in all seven offshore blocks that Uruguay has contracted in recent years. The hunt for the…