The Ministry of Economy, through the Secretariat of Energy, has officially terminated the hydrocarbon exploration permit for the MLO_114 area, located in the national offshore jurisdiction. The permit had been granted in 2019 to Tullow Argentina Limited Sucursal Argentina, Pluspetrol Sociedad Anónima, and Wintershall Dea Argentina Sociedad Anónima.
The decision, formalized through Resolution 448/2025 published in the Official Gazette and accessed by the Argentine News Agency, responds to the notification submitted by the companies on July 23, in which they communicated their decision not to proceed to the second exploratory period and declared their resignation from the said permit.
According to regulations, the National Directorate of Exploration and Production of the Ministry of Economy verified that the companies fulfilled the commitments assumed in the first exploratory stage and do not owe technical activities, surveys, or payments related to the exploration royalty for the 2025 fiscal year, which amounted to over 193 million pesos.
In the same vein, the environmental authority confirmed that the permit holders have no observations or non-compliances in the reports submitted and complied with the environmental guidelines required for the exploratory stage.
As a result of the resignation and compliance with legal conditions, the Secretariat of Energy resolved to revert the MLO_114 area to the National State, as provided for in Articles 81 and 85 of Law 17.319 and its amendments.
The area had been initially awarded through an international tender in 2019, covering tasks of search and offshore hydrocarbon exploration in the Argentine Sea, with initially extended by two supplementary years.
