GeoPark and Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén have filed a $1 billion-plus submission under Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) to scale Vaca Muerta output tenfold within three years.
The plan, filed jointly with Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP), Neuquén province's state oil and gas company, integrates the Loma Jarillosa Este (LJE) and Puesto Silva Oeste (PSO) blocks under a Single Project Vehicle (VPU), targeting an increase from roughly 1,500 bbl/d today to 20,000 bbl/d within three years.
GeoPark, a Latin American E&P company headquartered in Bogotá, becomes the sixth operator to file under the unconventional onshore upstream framework that Argentina's government extended through Decree 105/2026 in February, which sets a $600 million investment floor for the category.
The filing coincides with the same-day submission by YPF, Argentina's state-controlled oil and gas company, of its $25 billion LLL Oil project: the largest individual RIGI project filed since the regime's 2024 launch. With Friday's two announcements, six operators have now formally entered the unconventional onshore RIGI framework, with ticket sizes ranging from GeoPark's $1 billion to YPF's $25 billion.
Project Architecture
The scheme integrates the two blocks under a Single Project Vehicle (VPU). Plans call for horizontal wells drilled in factory mode, the construction of a Central Processing Facility (CPF) at Puesto Silva Oeste to handle combined output, and shared transport and evacuation infrastructure across both areas.
Loma Jarillosa Este covers 6,054 acres under an exploitation license valid through 2057. Puesto Silva Oeste adds 6,301 acres under a new 35-year Unconventional Hydrocarbon Exploitation Concession (CENCH) granted by Neuquén province last September, when the cession from Pluspetrol, an Argentine independent oil and gas producer, was formalized. On PSO, GyP retains a 5% interest under a recoverable carry arrangement, with GeoPark operating the block on the remaining 95%. On LJE, the Colombian operator holds 100%.
The PSO processing facility is being designed for roughly 20,000 bopd of throughput, matching the project's plateau target. In March, GeoPark started drilling its first wells at LJE under a 2026 budget of $80 million to $100 million for the block. The program comprises five wells, the installation of sucker-rod pumps on three additional wells, surface improvements, and permitting work for the shared facilities.
"Vaca Muerta is a strategic bet for GeoPark. We have a plan in motion and blocks with proven potential. This is exactly what this tool was designed for," said Ignacio Mazariegos, director of GeoPark's Argentina business unit.
From Conventional Exit to Unconventional Re-entry
GeoPark was founded in Argentina in 2002 and operated conventional wells in the country between 2006 and 2021. In 2023, facing production declines in Colombia (output fell from 41,000 bbl/d in 2019 to roughly 28,000 bbl/d by 2025), the company decided to return to Argentina with a focus on unconventional plays. It bid unsuccessfully for ExxonMobil's Argentine assets and in 2024 signed an agreement with Phoenix Global Resources, the UK-listed E&P operator with Argentine acreage, that was rescinded in May 2025.
Effective entry came in September 2025, when GeoPark closed with Pluspetrol the acquisition of 100% of the operated interest in Loma Jarillosa Este and Puesto Silva Oeste for $115 million. The transaction was formalized through framework agreements with Neuquén province, led by Governor Rolando Figueroa, which established the new CENCH for PSO and brought GyP in as a minority partner. Drilling started in March of this year.
In January, JP Morgan raised its price target on GeoPark's NYSE-listed shares (NYSE: GPRK) from $8.50 to $11, identifying Vaca Muerta as the company's central growth platform. In March, Colombia's Grupo Gilinski invested $107 million through its Colden subsidiary to acquire roughly 20% of GeoPark's equity, becoming the company's largest single shareholder.