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.
Argentina is the home of the second-largest shale formation in the world, containing an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It is also one of the most troubled economies in the world, with crises more or less now chronic.