Former Shell exec takes over at Uruguay's Ancap

Marta Jara officially took over as president of Uruguay's state oil company Ancap, a government statement said.

Jara, a chemical engineer, was appointed last month by Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez to lead Ancap, which operates in the crude oil refining, transport and commercialization segments, as well as in the production of biofuels and cement.

She served most recently as the head of Gas Sayago, a JV between Ancap and state utility UTE tasked with developing the GNL del Plata LNG import terminal.

Before that Jara worked for more than 20 years at Shell, where she served as president of Shell Mexico from 2008-12 and oversaw development of the Altamira LNG import terminal.

OFFSHORE DRILLING IMMINENT

In related news, Ancap confirmed that French major Total has begun preparation for the drilling of the Raya-1 exploratory well at block 14 in the Pelotas basin off the Uruguayan coast.

Drilling is expected to begin this month, Ancap said in a statement.

While Uruguay has yet to record a discovery of oil or gas, majors including Total, ExxonMobil and Statoil have shown increased interest of late in the basin.

Ancap also oversees offshore licensing rounds in Uruguay, the third of which is expected this year.