TanGo Energy will develop and operate three unconventional oil concessions granted by Argentina's Río Negro province, cementing the operator's push into the eastern flank of Vaca Muerta, the formation that ranks among the world's largest shale plays.
The confirmation came from Vista Energy, an independent Vaca Muerta-focused producer, and Trafigura, the global commodity trading and logistics group, the two shareholders that jointly control TanGo Energy, after the operator signed framework agreements with the province.
Those agreements perfect the award of the three unconventional hydrocarbon exploitation concessions (known by their Spanish acronym, CENCH) over the Charco del Palenque, Entre Lomas and Jarilla Quemada blocks, closing the legal process opened by provincial Decree 509/2026.
TanGo, the company formerly known as Petrolera Aconcagua Energía (recapitalized and taken over last year by Vista and Trafigura, and now led by chief executive Pablo Iuliano, a former YPF CEO), retains regulatory title and operator status for the full term.
The award follows a May 12 provincial resolution that authorized the transfer of five exploitation areas from Vista to the operator and approved the conversion of three of them to Argentina's unconventional regime: all of Charco del Palenque, all of Jarilla Quemada and 77% of the Entre Lomas acreage on the Río Negro side. The reconversion covers 148,300 acres, runs for 35 years and extends the production horizon to March 9, 2061.
The URSA Vehicle and How the Shale Rights Split
To accelerate development, the shareholders created a new company, Unconventional Resources S.A. (URSA), incorporated on June 10 according to the Official Gazette. URSA is jointly controlled by Vista Energy S.A.B. de C.V., the Mexico-listed parent, and Trafigura Ventures V B.V., the group's Netherlands-based vehicle, the two parent companies that capitalized and took control of the operator last year.
Vista's Argentine unit transferred to URSA half of the economic rights to unconventional development across the three blocks and kept the other half; the move does not alter the CENCH regulatory title, which stays with TanGo. Economic rights over the remaining conventional output, including the Jagüel de los Machos and 25 de Mayo–Medanito SE areas, remain with the operator.
The result is a layered structure. The operator's controlling company brings together AR Energy Resources, an affiliate of Trafigura Argentina, and Vista's local unit, based in Cipolletti, Río Negro province. On the shale rights specifically, exposure splits between Vista's direct 50% and URSA's 50%, which in turn divides equally between the two parents, leaving Vista with roughly three-quarters of the unconventional economic rights and Trafigura with the remaining quarter.
A Four-Well Pilot and a 60,000 bbl/d Ambition
Development begins with a four-well pilot carrying an initial investment of $66 million committed for 2027 and 2028: two horizontal wells with a 2,800-meter lateral at Charco del Palenque, and two vertical wells slated for later horizontalization at Jarilla Quemada and Entre Lomas.
If the pilot confirms the acreage's potential, the operator estimates an inventory of up to 120 wells over the life of the concessions. Iuliano has already signaled his ambition to build an export platform of 60,000 bbl/d within five years and to file a project under Argentina's Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI).
The arrangement replicates a two-step provincial template: cession under Article 72 of Argentina's Hydrocarbons Law (Law 17,319) and reconversion to the unconventional regime under Article 27 bis. It also consolidates Río Negro as an expanding shale frontier within Vaca Muerta. As of March, seven shale wells in the province contributed 7,750 bbl/d, about 40% of its oil output, and two further CENCH are advancing over the Confluencia Norte and Confluencia Sur blocks, operated by Phoenix Global Resources, a Vaca Muerta operator.