Dallas-based Schuepbach Energy has signed a two-year contract with Uruguay's state oil company Ancap to search for shale gas in a 10,000km2 area in northern Uruguay, company CEO Martin Schuepbach has said. "We are looking for gas trapped in shales in Uruguay. We believe there are similar shales in Uruguay to the Barnet shales in Dallas Fort Worth," the CEO said. 

"We signed the contract last week, and we are beginning initial studies now. We are starting with surface analysis and we will analyze those for the barometers which you need for shale gas, such as the content of organic material. We are also conducting feasibility studies for gravity measurements," he said.

If gas is found after the exploration period, an international bid will be called with Schuepbach having preference, according to local press reports.

Schuepbach currently has exploration assets in the Marcellus shale in the northeastern US, according to the company's website.

Speaking at the World Gas Conference in Buenos Aires earlier in the month, BP CEO Tony Hayward said that significant tight and shale gas reserves could be uncovered in the continent's Southern Cone in the next few years. Similar finds in the US have unearthed, by some estimates, hundreds of years of new gas reserves.

Source: BN Americas