The 12-year instrument, placed in international markets at a coupon below the 8% threshold, anchors annual capital expenditure of $1.5–$1.6 billion through 2028, positioning Vista as the second Argentine upstream company to tap international debt markets this year
February output held at 874,000 bbl/d — a 15.8% year-on-year gain — confirming the new floor rather than a seasonal spike. Neuquén drove nearly seven in ten barrels, but a 126,000 bbl/d gap to the 1 million bbl/d target and unresolved transport constraints mean geology is no longer the binding variable
The Techint Group chairman argued that artificial intelligence applied to fracture design and reservoir management could add more than 3 billion barrels to Vaca Muerta's recoverable resource base — a figure Shale24 estimates at roughly $230 billion in potential subsurface value
The Latin American E&P company has launched a drilling campaign at its Loma Jarillosa Este block in Neuquén with $80–100 million budgeted for 2026, targeting a ramp from 1,500 bbl/d to 5,000–6,000 bbl/d by December — and 20,000 bbl/d by end-2028
In January, he halted drilling in North Dakota for the first time in 30 years. Weeks later, he traveled to New York to deepen his position in Argentina’s Neuquén Basin. “The rock doesn’t know which country it’s in,” said the businessman and adviser to Donald Trump.
With seven professional training tracks and cutting-edge learning technology, the Vaca Muerta Institute was officially inaugurated at its headquarters in Neuquén’s Technology Park
Wood Mackenzie quantified the scale of the effort the industry will need to undertake to turn Vaca Muerta into a shale oil export hub. The key question: can execution capacity keep pace without creating bottlenecks?
Since the United States and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, the Strait of Hormuz has entered an active crisis. Brent crude has risen above $100 a barrel for the first time in four years, the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market has been shaken, and fertilizer prices have already increased by as much as 35%. Argentina is playing on both sides of the field.
The announcement, made during Argentina Week in New York, includes the expansion of Tratayén, a 573-kilometer NGL pipeline and a maritime terminal in Bahía Blanca. The project could reach a final investment decision (FID) within 60 days, according to Shale24.
The expansion of the incentive regime to hydrocarbon production not only added fiscal benefits to Pampa Energía’s project in Vaca Muerta, it also changed its scale. Previously outside the program’s scope, the company led by Marcelo Mindlin is now accelerating its development curve toward a plateau of 45,000 barrels per day by 2027.
The Colombian investor group invested $107 million to become the largest shareholder in GeoPark. The deal aims to accelerate the company’s regional growth strategy and its development in Vaca Muerta.
The company acquired the assets of the Norwegian firm, which withdrew from the country, and is now awaiting a decision from the pipeline consortium and Chilean national authorities to add its shale oil volumes.
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.
Associated gas — the gas that inevitably emerges as a byproduct of oil production in the black oil and liquids-rich window of the Neuquén formation — is rich in high-value components. In January, output climbed to 26.7 million cubic meters per day, setting a historic record. The industry is closely monitoring the trend, as it could open the door to a new business opportunity.
Despite falling international prices, Argentina’s energy sector maintained a positive balance and posted a record surplus of $7.815 billion in 2025, driven by unconventional production and lower import dependence.
