Eni has formalised its entry into Uruguay’s offshore exploration sector, taking operatorship of the deepwater OFF-5 block and agreeing to acquire an interest in the neighbouring APA-operated OFF-6 block.
The Italian company signed the OFF-5 agreement with MIWEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Argentina’s YPF, and Uruguay’s national oil company ANCAP following approval by the Uruguayan authorities. The transaction, first announced in November 2025, gives Eni a 50% interest and operatorship, with MIWEN retaining the remaining 50%.
OFF-5 covers approximately 16,883 km² around 200 km from the Uruguayan coast, in water depths ranging from 800 to 4100 metres. The block is in its first exploration period, with geological and geophysical studies under way to assess and mature its hydrocarbon potential.
Eni has also reached an agreement to acquire a 40% interest in the adjacent OFF-6 block, which is operated by APA Corporation. ANCAP’s exploration programme for the block includes a committed deepwater exploration well.
The two transactions give Eni exposure to a substantial acreage position along Uruguay’s largely unexplored Atlantic margin. Although no commercial hydrocarbon discoveries have yet been made offshore Uruguay, industry interest has grown because of the geological relationship with the conjugate margin of southwest Africa, where major discoveries have been made in Namibia’s Orange Basin.
Uruguay has attracted several international operators through ANCAP’s offshore licensing rounds. Shell, APA, Chevron, QatarEnergy and YPF are among the companies now holding interests in the country’s offshore blocks, with work programmes including seismic acquisition, data reprocessing, geological modelling and exploration drilling.
Eni said its partnership with MIWEN also strengthens its wider collaboration with YPF. The two companies are already working together on the integrated upstream and midstream Argentina LNG project.
Image courtesy of Eni.
