Drilling activity is accelerating in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale region, thanks in large part to policies by the business-friendly government of President Javier Milei. Shale oil now accounts for about 60% of Argentine crude and has put the nation on course to reach production levels unseen in more than 20 years, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Under the agreement, the countries will form a working group to identify the measures required for gas exports to be viable and study the development of export infrastructure, primarily emphasising Argentina’s Vaca Muerta formation.
In a surprise development, there are indications that the economically strife-torn country of Argentina will emerge as a major regional energy player. The exploitation of the 7.5 million Vaca Muerta shale formation has delivered an unconventional hydrocarbon boom for Argentina, a fiscally fragile nation once dependent on oil and gas imports.