Uruguay offers a stable investment regime with transparent governance where the above ground risks are minimized. Organized by the national oil company (ANCAP), historical license rounds have attracted significant foreign investment.

Currently, Uruguay holds two license rounds each year, one in May and the second in November. Looking to the future, ANCAP is calling for a framework of a continuous open regime and presentation of proposals.

The new approach facilities an Open Uruguay Round, allowing all companies interested in carrying out exploration for hydrocarbons the opportunity to become qualified and submit acreage offers at any time. All exploration and exploitation interests in onshore and offshore areas of the República Oriental del Uruguay are subject to production-sharing agreements.

Upcoming 2022 Second License Round 

There is a planned license round scheduled for November 2022 with prequalification due by the end of October. Acreage remains available for opportunities and the blocks available exhibit encouraging features that indicate viable prospectivity. 

PGS 3D GeoStreamer data covers the open acreage and is complemented by newly rejuvenated 2D data. The reprocessed 2D volume covers the majority of Uruguay's shallow and deepwater provinces, with an overlap of 15 600 sq. km of 3D GeoStreamer data. The reprocessed 2D has significant data quality improvement compared to the legacy data which is publicly available. 

In addition to conventional license round for hydrocarbons, ANCAP is also preparing for a sustainable future by inviting energy companies interested in the production of green hydrogen to contact them. 

What Makes Uruguay Attractive for Explorers

Licenses for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in Uruguay benefit from

• Large acreage increases the potential for successful discoveries
• Low qualification criteria and reduced initial capital guarantees
• Qualified companies can submit a licensing bid 
• Qualification approval can be granted up to one month prior to the submission deadline for licensing offers
• Transparency in ranking for competing license offers is based on a defined set of criteria
• The possibility to retain an exploration license for up to six years without a requirement to drill allows ample time for subsurface evaluation and derisking
• Transparency on fiscal terms within the production sharing agreements.

For further information on the license round requirements for Uruguay, please contact Adriana Sola.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: PGS