Argentina’s energy company YPF is nearing a deal for the acquisition of shale assets in the country owned by French supermajor TotalEnergies, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources in the know.
TotalEnergies has stakes in two fields that are part of the Vaca Muerta shale play but an underdeveloped part. YPF has been very active in the development of other parts of the formation and looking for growth opportunities in what many have called the second-largest shale deposit in the world.
According to the Bloomberg report, the sale could fetch between $400 and $500 million.
The Vaca Muerta shale play is estimated to hold recoverable resources consisting of 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Those numbers make the Vaca Muerta the world’s second-largest shale gas deposit. Total production from the formation has grown from less than 90,000 bpd five years ago to 447,000 bpd earlier this year, not least thanks to government policies under Javier Milei that have sought to boost foreign investment in Argentina’s energy industry.
YPF, the state firm, is the most active developer in the Vaca Muerta, having drilled over 800 wells in the formation between 2015 and 2021, with the second most active driller, Tecpetrol, at a distant 150 wells for the period, per data from Enverus. TotalEnergies was on par with the second-largest driller in the Vaca Muerta with 150 wells.
YPF currently accounts for 55% of the oil output in the play as well as 45% of the natural gas production there, in partnership with Tecpetrol, according to data from Rystad Energy. The Argentine government considers the shale play instrumental in drawing in foreign investment and enhancing energy security by producing more energy at home instead of importing it. There are also hopes to turn Argentina into a major energy exporter.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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