31-01-05 Chile's state oil firm Enap has called for bids on two contracts to drill an exploratory well in the Lago Mercedes area of Tierra del Fuego province in the country's southern Region XII and provide complementary services, the company said.
Bidding rules for both contracts are at a price of $ 500 each. Bids for the complementary services contract will be received March 15, and bids for the drilling contract will be received March 16. Investment in the well will be some $ 10 mm.

Enap will soon decide a location for the well after revising 3D seismic studies completed in 2004 by Veritas Geophysical Chile. Natural gas discoveries have been made on the 312 sq km Lago Mercedes area in the past. But the new well may determine if commercially viable quantities can be found there.
Chilean environmental authority Conama approved Enap's plans to explore for oil and gas in Lago Mercedes last December.