The opening of offers is scheduled for May 17 at the Emesa headquarters.
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Emesa opened a public tender to exploit Vega Grande, the highest oil area in the country.
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The reactivation of Vega Grande
Vega Grande is considered the highest oil area above sea level in the entire country (2,800m). In June 2021, after almost three years of abandonment, Emesa and two local SMEs, VenOil Energía and Jet Oil Tecnology, restarted the field continuously until today, with daily oil production averages between 14 and 15 m3 and peaks of up to 575m3/month. This, overcoming climatic and operational difficulties in such a high and isolated area.
The area had reverted to Mendoza in 2018 when Phoenix Global Resources’ concession period ended. It covers an area of 291 km2 but is currently reduced to 164.6 km2 and has a single discovered site.
Last month it produced 159 m3, which represents just a small portion of Mendoza’s total crude oil production.. What the Government says is that the area could be of interest to small companies dedicated to oil, such as those currently associated with Emesa for the reactivation of the field.
The participation of the provincial State in the process, through the Ministry of Energy and Environmentwill be necessary once the offers are presented to give the final ok of the transfer of rights that Emesa acquired for 25 years, that is, until June 2046.
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Vega Grande’s background
In the late 1970s, YPF studied the Vega Grande area and drilled two wells to the south of the block; the YPF.Md.AM-1 and the YPF.Md.TE-1, with no hydrocarbons recovered, so the well was abandoned.
Finally, in 1984 YPF drilled the YPF.Md.VG-1 discovery well with good production levels.
The second producing well, located south of the YPF.Md.VG x-1 well and called YPF.Md.VG e-2, was drilled in 1986. The YPF.Md.VG-3 well located east of the YPF.Md .VG x-1, drilled in 1988/1989, and was also a hydrocarbon producer.
The YPF.Md.VG-6 well, drilled in 1987 and completed in 1989, was found to be low in hydrocarbons, but instead showed good gas volumes.
In July 1991, this concession was granted to Petrochemical Comodoro Rivadavia SA (PCR). The PCR.Md.VG-100 horizontal well was drilled and although it produced oil, it only accumulated a small volume of hydrocarbons. The PCR operation ends in 1995.
In February 1995, the operation of Grecoil and CIA SRL began, which would continue until the end of the concession.
Grecoil and CIA SRL, in the coming years, would change owners and undergo mergers with other groups of companies. It was first acquired by Andes Energía SA until mid-2017, where Andes Energía merged with Petrolera El Trébol (PETSA), a subsidiary in Argentina of the Swiss Mercuriaadding the production and exploration assets of both.
Through this agreement, a new company called Phoenix Global Resources was created, completing the operation of the area in the first half of 2018.to be reverted to the province of Mendoza.
Almost three years passed of inactivity of the deposit until, in June 2021, through a process carried out by the province of Mendoza, the transfer is decreed in favor of the Mendocina Energy Company SA (Emesa) for a period of 25 years.
Said process would begin in February 2021, the Hydrocarbons Directorate granted a provisional permit to enter the Area in order to survey, recondition the facilities and proceed with the commissioning of the field. In this inspection it was observed that, since it had been inactive for so long, the area had been vandalized and in this sense, it was completely refurbished..
In environmental matters, in mid-March 2021, the Base Environmental Study was presented to the Directorate of Environmental Protection (DPA) and the replacement of 8 sections of the main pipeline, maintenance and certification of the 30 valves were scheduled together. and the construction of Berms in the most critical sections of the pipeline.
In June 2021, the Vega Grande field was commissioned again continuously until today.with production peaks of up to 575m3/month and overcoming all climatic and operational difficulties in such an isolated area.
This reactivation was a milestone for the provincesince for the first time a tower equipment was taken to a high-altitude field, which thus went from being abandoned for almost three years to producing between 14 and 15 m3 per day of oil, with peaks of up to 30 m3 per day. Until it was operational, before being abandoned, it produced up to 5 m3.
