28-08-06 Epec, Argentine province Cordoba's provincial energy company, will call for oil and gas exploration bids within the next few months for three zones, an Epec spokesperson told, elaborating on a provincial government statement.
The company will unveil the bidding timeline very soon, according to the official, who said the timeline is not quite ready.

The three areas are one in the General Levalle basin, a zone in the Mar Chiquita basin and an area in the Justiniano Posse y Monte Buey zone. The oil market considers the areas "high risk," the spokesperson said.
Only the General Levalle area has been studied previously. In 1997 YPF, the state-owned oil company at that time, carried out the studies, another source at Epec said.

YPF studies, performed with US oil company Hunt and local oil firm Perfiltra, indicated the presence of gas and oil in the basin's south. But production costs were deemed too high to make the area profitable, according to the report.
Epec hopes that now-lower E&Pcosts combined with soaring oil prices could make the areas feasible. The company is also studying a fourth block in a northern zone that it plans to tender after the three areas.