The company carried out an abrasive jet perforation with coiled tubing in a deep horizontal well in Vaca Muerta, completing six clusters and stabilizing surface pressure at 8,000 psi. The milestone underscores the ongoing trend of reducing non-productive time and improving operational efficiency in the shale.
Argentina is emerging as a regional shale powerhouse, but with weak Brent prices and higher costs, the market in 2026 will demand greater, almost surgical efficiency. The energy map is being rewritten, and the question is whether profitability will hold in the next chapter.
Although the basin remains highly productive, operators are placing less emphasis on drilling more wells and more on extracting value efficiently from existing developments. Technologies such as enhanced oil recovery (EOR), horseshoe wells, and artificial intelligence will be crucial to extending the life of this iconic U.S. shale basin.
Argentina’s renewable energy sector is entering a period of strong dynamism, with local and multinational players vying for leadership. Major international developers are playing an increasingly prominent and decisive role, aiming to reshape the country’s energy landscape.
With Project Vault, the Trump administration is launching a $12 billion megaproject to create a strategic reserve of critical minerals—key to the transition to electric vehicles, batteries and semiconductors—in a bid to reduce reliance on China and strengthen supply chains.
Innovative solutions use energy-saving algorithms that evaluate the time of day, natural lighting and the total load on the power grid, ensuring stadiums operate at maximum efficiency regardless of the
YPF and Pluspetrol sealed a cashless asset swap that will allow the state-controlled oil company to consolidate full control of three key areas in Vaca Muerta, while the private firm repositions itself in high-potential blocks through Vaca Muerta Inversiones.
The purpose of the new company is broad and includes the exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits, as well as the extraction, processing, refining, grinding, transportation and commercialization of minerals and byproducts, along with the provision of related services.
After successfully integrating the Loma Jarillosa Este block, which it operates 100%, and Puesto Silva Oeste, the company is preparing an aggressive drilling program and reinforcing its strategy for sustained growth.
Preparatory work is underway for the directional drilling on the north bank, while on the south bank a welded and hydrostatically tested pipe section is ready for insertion, with additional works still pending at the site.
Analysts from UBS, Kpler, Ninepoint and Bison offer a technical take on Venezuela, Iran, energy and the market impact of geopolitical decisions led by Donald Trump and his former European allies.
Merey 16 is Venezuela’s benchmark crude, a heavy and sour oil that accounts for most exports by state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). Why it matters and what it changes for other benchmark crudes.
ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Halliburton are among the U.S. companies with outstanding payments stemming from ICSID rulings against Venezuela. Other firms from the United States and Canada, as well as from the European Union, are also involved.
Analysts warn that a violent disruption could temporarily reduce supply, affecting heavy crude prices and benchmarks such as Dubai versus Brent, as the global market would rely more heavily on substitutes from Canada or the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Final decisions for several distributor groups, including Naturgy, could be announced in the coming weeks, amid tariff normalization, the five-year tariff review (Revisión Tarifaria Quinquenal, RTQ), and a Vaca Muerta gas surplus driving investment and network expansion.
