Billionaire Harold Hamm’s Continental Resources will buy assets from Argentina’s Pan American Energy, Bloomberg reported on Monday, in the latest development in the company’s push into the Vaca Muerta shale basin. Continental has agreed to buy Pan American’s non-operating interests in four oil blocks from.
The Oklahoma City-based company is regarded as one of the pioneers of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling led to the U.S. shale revolution. Harold Hamm took the company private in late 2022 by buying out public shareholders, ending its 15-year stint as a public company. Continental Resources is now one of the largest private oil and gas producers in the U.S., focusing on the Bakken, Anadarko and Permian basin
“Vaca Muerta is one of the most compelling shale plays in the world,” Continental President and Chief Executive Officer Doug Lawler said in a statement.
Vaca Muerta is a massive, world-class shale formation in Argentina’s Neuquén Basin, driving a significant boom in oil and gas production and moving the country towards energy self-sufficiency and potential LNG exports. Characterized by brittle rock, low clay, and a composition similar to the Permian Basin, Vaca Muerta is ideal for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), attracting major international investment, with projections for production to reach 1 million barrels of oil per day by 2030.
Argentina, Brazil and Guyana are seen as the key drivers of rising non-OPEC oil supply, offering cost-competitive production from deepwater pre-salt (Brazil, Guyana) and shale (Argentina’s Vaca Muerta) with major output increases expected through the late 2020s. These South American sources provide high-quality, low-breakeven-cost oil, making them crucial for future global energy needs.
Deepwater fields in Brazil and Guyana have low breakeven costs (around $30-$50/barrel), making them economically attractive. The three countries are expected to contribute substantially to the nearly 60% of new oil capacity coming online by 2030, offsetting slower U.S. shale growth and meeting robust global demand, with Guyana’s output nearing 1 million bpd and Brazil hitting around 4 million barrels per day.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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