BUENOS AIRES, May 17 (Reuters) - Argentina awarded permitsto begin hydrocarbon exploration in 18 areas off the coast ofthe country in the Malvinas West basin to companies includingExxon Mobil Corp, Total SA, YPF SAand Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the government said onFriday.
The winning companies offered bids totaling $724 million,the government said, to explore the areas that are located inthe South Atlantic, some near the Malvinas Islands under thecontrol of the British government, but whose sovereignty isclaimed by Argentina.
The other companies that will make up exploration consortiainclude BP, Qatar Petroleum, Tullow Oil, Pluspetrol, Wintershall, Equinor, Eni, Mitsui &Co Ltd and TecpetrolSA.
Offshore exploration could boost the country's reserves,which fell in the last decade due to government regulations thatdiscouraged foreign investment in the energy sector.
President Mauricio Macri has sought to increase energyproduction. In 2018, 18 percent of the country's gas productioncame from offshore areas.(Reporting by Jorge Otaola and Walter Bianchi; writing byCassandra GarrisonEditing by Marguerita Choy)