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A massive reshuffling of energy assets in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation has seen international oil giants sell over $4.6 billion worth of operations to local companies and state-owned entities over the past 18 months.
Major Multinationals Exit Argentina
ExxonMobil received $1.7 billion from Pluspetrol for its undeveloped shale oil fields in late 2024, followed by another $327 million sale of a shale gas area to YPF alongside Qatar Energy. These transactions opened the floodgates for a multinational exodus from what’s considered the world’s most attractive unconventional oil and gas formation based on resource quality, though less so due to Argentina’s economic and political risks.
Malaysian state-owned Petronas sold its oil fields to Vista Energy for approximately $1.34 billion last year, while Norwegian giant Equinor offloaded $712 million worth of shale oil areas to the same buyer this month. French company TotalEnergies divested its oil assets to YPF for $500 million, though it retained gas holdings. Shell and Petronas both withdrew from Argentina’s most ambitious investment project – a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export venture with YPF – after failing to reach agreements on financing and timelines.
Local Players Gain Ground
Vista Energy, founded from scratch in 2017 by Miguel Galuccio, has emerged as Vaca Muerta’s largest 100% private oil producer following its recent acquisitions. The company’s rapid expansion exemplifies how local operators are capitalizing on multinationals’ exit strategy. According to a sector executive, international companies had valued their Argentine assets at near zero due to currency controls (cepo cambiario) that prevented profit repatriation, but now see “an exit opportunity at good prices.”
Daniel Dreizzen, director of consultancy Aleph Energy and former Energy Planning undersecretary, explained that these oil companies are leaving “at good prices” to redirect investments toward more profitable and less risky opportunities in places like Guyana or the United States.
State-Owned Entities Enter the Market
The most promising new development involves Italy’s ENI and UAE’s XRG, both state-owned entities that have become binding partners with YPF in the Argentina LNG project. This venture will include exports of liquefied gas, oil, and valuable natural gas liquids like ethane, propane, butane, and pentane used in petrochemicals. YPF is seeking a fourth partner to strengthen the financial backing for these investments, with Saudi Aramco’s MidOcean as the preferred option, to be announced in coming weeks.
Continental Resources, owned by American magnate Harold Hamm – known as “the king of fracking” – represents the most promising recent entry into Vaca Muerta, though the company’s production figures were cut off in the source material.
Currency Controls Drive Strategic Shifts
The wave of asset sales reflects multinationals’ assessment that other global opportunities offer better risk-adjusted returns than Argentina, despite Vaca Muerta’s resource quality. Local entrepreneurs, more accustomed to Argentina’s economic volatility, possess the experience to navigate political negotiations and inherent market risks that international companies prefer to avoid.
YPF has exchanged assets with Pluspetrol to advance its LNG development and awaits official details on adherence to Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) for upstream hydrocarbon exploration and production investments, which would enable its partnership with ENI and XRG.
Sources: Clarin
