Enarsa, Sipetrol, YPF Ratify February Offshore E&P Accord

Argentine state energy company Enarsa and the Argentine subsidiaries of Chile's state oil company Enap and Spanish oil major Repsol YPF (NYSE: REP) have signed an association agreement that ratifies and expands the February 2006 E&P agreement.

The E&P deal covers blocks E2 and CAM-3 offshore Argentina, Enap subsidiary Sipetrol said in a statement.

The companies will sign the joint operating agreement to form the official consortium within six months and the agreement will define the exact operating conditions.

Sipetrol will act as operator of the consortium and Enarsa will participate as a partner if the search for oil and gas is successful.

Sipetrol and Repsol YPF subsidiary YPF already have invested more than US$10mn in exploration of the areas.

The next step will be the drilling of the first exploratory well based on seismic data.

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