May 20, 2026
QatarEnergy has acquired interests in three offshore exploration blocks in Uruguay from Shell subsidiary BG International, expanding the Qatari state energy giant’s footprint in South America through partnerships with Shell, APA Corporation, and Chevron.
QatarEnergy said Wednesday it had acquired participating interests in the OFF-2, OFF-4, and OFF-7 blocks offshore Uruguay’s Atlantic coast from BG International Limited, a subsidiary of Shell.
Under the agreements, QatarEnergy will take an 18% stake in the OFF-4 block, where APA Corporation operates the acreage with a 50% interest, while Shell retains 32%.
The company also secured a 30% interest in the OFF-2 block, which Shell operates with the remaining 70% stake.
In the OFF-7 block, QatarEnergy acquired a 30% interest alongside operator Shell, which holds 40%, and Chevron, which owns the remaining 30%.
The blocks are located offshore Uruguay in water depths ranging from 40 meters to 4,000 meters and cover areas between 11,155 square kilometers and 18,227 square kilometers.
QatarEnergy CEO and Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi described the deals as the company’s first move into Uruguay’s upstream sector and said the agreements deepen its strategic relationship with Shell while broadening QatarEnergy’s presence in South America.
The transaction continues QatarEnergy’s aggressive international upstream expansion strategy, as the company builds exploration and LNG positions across Africa, the Americas, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Uruguay’s offshore basin has drawn increasing attention from major oil companies in recent years following exploration successes in neighboring offshore Namibia and renewed interest in the South Atlantic margin.
Shell has been steadily expanding its exploration presence offshore Uruguay, while APA and Chevron have also positioned themselves in the frontier basin amid growing industry interest in underexplored deepwater acreage.
Oilprice.com
