Argentina's second-biggest natural gas producing province, Salta, has extended a deadline for bidding on six hydrocarbons blocks by one month to Sept. 15, an official said Tuesday.
Oil companies requested the extension, an aide to the province's energy undersecretary told Dow Jones Newswires.
The province has sold some 30 applications to "all of the large oil companies and some medium companies operating in Argentina," the aide said on condition of anonymity.
"The province has a lot of gas, but it is deep, so you need a good amount of capital to reach it," he added. Wells average a depth of 4,000 meters, with some now being drilled as far as 6,000 meters down, he added.
Another deterrent for bidders is the low domestic well-head price for gas, which is around $1.20-$1.30 per million British thermal units.
Following this month's increase in the price Argentina pays for Bolivian gas imports, to $5/MMBtu, Salta authorities are hoping that the federal government will allow them to lift domestic prices.
"The companies could tell me that with a price so low there isn't an incentive for large investments," Salta Gov. Juan Romero was quoted as saying in Tuesday's edition of business daily El Cronista.
Federal officials are trying to battle rising inflation with price controls, however, casting doubt on any near-term well-head prices increases.
