Latest news with #VacaMuerta
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rystad Energy Reveals Surprising Oil Resource Trends
Rystad Energy's latest research shows the global amount of discovered, recoverable oil resources has increased by 5 billion barrels over the past year, even though 30 billion barrels were produced globally in 2024. This net increase was driven primarily by the delineation of upside potential in Argentina's Vaca Muerta play and the Permian Delaware basin in Texas and New Mexico. Global recoverable oil resources, including estimates for undiscovered fields, stabilized at approximately 1.5 trillion barrels. The most significant revision over the last 10 years has been in yet-to-find resources, where our projection has been reduced by 456 billion barrels. This is due to a steep decline in frontier exploration, unsuccessful shale developments outside the Americas and a doubling in offshore costs over the past five years. Rystad Energy expects reserve replacements from new conventional oil projects to be less than 30% of production over the next five years, while exploration would replace only about 10%. A total of 1,572 billion barrels of crude oil were produced historically from 1900 through 2024. Today, the world's proven oil reserves equal only 14 years of production. If future global oil demand increases, as forecast by OPEC, supply will likely struggle to meet demand, even at attractive, high prices for producers. However, if the energy transition continues to make inroads, future oil demand is expected to fall, particularly with the greater electrification of transport vehicles, as seen in China. "Full extraction of these oil resources will require oil prices stabilizing at higher levels and further estimate increases will require new technologies to lower production costs. Over the next decades, the capital needed will likely not be available to meet continuously increasing oil demand, service prices could skyrocket, and there will likely be limited appetite for innovations to sustain such high emissions from oil." Per Magnus Nysveen, Chief Analyst, Rystad Energy If oil demand rises over the next few decades, global recoverable resources will not offer the supply needed to meet it, creating a constrained economic environment that wouldn't be able to compete with less capital-intensive energy sources. As a result, Rystad Energy does not expect oil demand to continue to grow steeply towards 2050, with the company's analysis concluding that the worst-case warming scenarios evaluated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will not materialize. Referring to Rystad Energy's highest scenario, which leads to a 2.5°C rise in temperature, future CO2 emissions from fossil fuels will be limited to 2,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide (GtCO2), of which 900 Gt will come from coal, 600 Gt from oil, and 500 Gt from natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). This is 500 Gt less CO2 than the IPCC's mid-scenario, which leads to 2.8°C of warming. 'In a world with flat or growing demand after 2030, another oil super-cycle would be needed. This scenario would require a substantial increase in frontier exploration and drilling success as well as accelerated deployment of secondary recovery and full-scale development of non-core shale plays in North America and globally.' Artem Abramov, Deputy Head of Analysis, Rystad Energy By Rystad Energy More Top Reads From this article on
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Argentina Finally Emerges as a South American Oil Powerhouse
The discovery of the massive Vaca Muerta shale play was a game changer for the economically troubled South American nation of Argentina. The country, which with 2024 gross domestic product of $632 billion ranks as the second largest economy in South America and third largest in the broader region of Latin America, is rapidly becoming one of the region's leading hydrocarbon producers. The latest data from Argentina's Ministry of Economy shows shale oil production hit an all-time high for June 2025, although overall petroleum output dipped lower. Meanwhile, all important natural gas output registered a new high for June 2025, with stronger-than-expected conventional field production bolstering overall output after a decline in shale gas volumes. Argentina's hydrocarbon output continues to expand at a solid clip, despite the country's numerous economic and social challenges. This is due to the tremendous hydrocarbon potential of the 8.6-million-acre Vaca Muerta shale formation, located in the Neuquén Basin. The geological body, despite being discovered in 1927, did not have its hydrocarbon potential fully evaluated until 2011 when it was determined the formation contains an estimated 16 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil along with 308 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Those gargantuan numbers make the Vaca Muerta one of the top five unconventional hydrocarbon formations globally, with it containing the world's fourth-largest shale oil and second-largest shale gas resources. Indeed, the geological body is now being compared to the prolific world-class U.S. Permian Shale, underscoring its considerable potential. The successful exploitation of the Vaca Muerta will not only be a silver bullet for Argentina's crisis-prone economy but will also make the country a leading South American oil and natural gas producer. Official government data shows Argentina lifted an average of 771,888 barrels of crude oil per day during June 2025, more than 62% weighted to shale oil the largest proportion reported yet. Source: Argentina Ministry of Economy. Argentina's June 2025 oil output is 3.32% higher month over month and a whopping 16.79% greater than the same period a year earlier. As a result, the country's petroleum production once again exceeded Colombia, making Argentina Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer. Source: Argentina Ministry of Economy and Colombia National Hydrocarbons Agency. Argentina's natural gas output is also growing at a solid clip it driven by the exploitation of the Vaca Muerta. For June 2025, natural gas production hit an all-time high of 5.6 billion cubic feet per day, which was a notable 7.5% increase compared to a month prior and 7.59% higher year over year. Source: Argentina Ministry of Economy. Remarkably, that record output was achieved despite a sharp decline in shale gas production, which fell by 13.31% month over month and 14.44% year over year to just under 2.5 billion cubic feet per day for June 2025. As a consequence, shale gas accounted for only 52% of all natural gas lifted, representing a significant reduction from previous months, when it exceeded 60% since the start of 2024. Impressively, Argentina reported strong production numbers despite the rig count falling. According to industry consultancy Baker Hughes, at the end of June 2025, there were 42 active rigs (30 oil and 12 gas) compared to 50 rigs (38 oil and 12 gas) a year earlier. This indicates the operational efficiency of shale oil and gas operations in the Vaca Muerta is improving, with overall hydrocarbon output rising despite a drop in the number of active rigs. It also underscores the improved performance of aging mature conventional oil and gas fields in the provinces of Río Negro, La Pampa, and Mendoza. Those trends bode well for further growth, even if industry investment flattens out, which is a risk because of Argentina's fragile economy, despite Milei's strong fiscal reforms, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty impacting oil prices. For these reasons, Argentina's Neuquén Basin, where Vaca Muerta is located, is now the country's largest hydrocarbon-producing sedimentary province and is responsible for nearly all the production growth experienced over the last decade. For June 2025, 72% of all oil and 73.5% of natural gas produced in Argentina were lifted in the Neuquén basin while for the first six months, the geological formation pumped 71% of all oil and natural gas pumped during that period. Consequently, Neuquén is now Argentina's leading hydrocarbon-producing province. Output will keep expanding with $9 billion of petroleum investment expected in Neuquén during 2025 alone, most of which will be directed to the Vaca Muerta. National oil company YPF, the largest hydrocarbon producer in the Vaca Muerta and Argentina, is responsible for most of that investment and subsequent production growth. The company will inject up to $5.2 billion into its portfolio in 2025, with approximately two-thirds, or $3.6 billion, of that capital allocated to upstream assets. This forms part of YPF's nearly $36 billion investment plan for 2025 to 2030. Argentina's national oil company anticipates that net shale oil production will reach 470,000 barrels per day by 2030. This is nearly four times greater than the 122,000 barrels per day lifted by YPF during 2024 and three times more than the 172,000 barrels per day extracted for the first six months of 2025. Argentina's hydrocarbon output is expected to rise further over the coming months as additional key infrastructure, notably transport and storage facilities, comes online. Significant infrastructure upgrades in Argentina's oil patch are responsible for the Vaca Muerta's notable uptick in hydrocarbon production since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The August 2023 completion of the 900 million cubic feet per day Perito Moreno gas pipeline, along with its related pressurization facilities, boosted takeaway capacity, allowing drillers to increase production. This facility is being expanded, which upon completion in 2027 will lift daily transportation capacity to 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Another important piece of infrastructure currently under construction is the 550,000-barrel-per-day Vaca Muerta Sur Oil Pipeline. This facility will connect the Loma Campana field in Neuquén Province to an export facility being built at the port of Punta Colorada in Río Negro Province. Upon completion, the pipeline will substantially increase takeaway capacity, thereby allowing hydrocarbon output to expand further. Pampa Energy, the Vaca Muerta's eleventh-largest shale oil producer, invested $426 million to build a hydrocarbon treatment plant at the Rincon de Aranda field in Neuquén province. This is part of a $1.5 billion investment plan that will allow Pampa to scale up operations at the Rincon de Aranda field, which is pumping around 3,103 barrels of shale oil and 1.2 million cubic feet of shale gas per day. Those events demonstrate the feverish rate at which critical infrastructure is being built out so production will expand at a solid clip. The Vaca Muerta shale continues to exceed all expectations, with the formation on track to become a recognized world-class asset for producing unconventional oil and natural gas. As additional critical infrastructure comes online and Argentina's economy stabilizes, because of President Javier Milei's strong pro-business reforms, foreign investment in the Vaca Muerta will rise, driving further development and production growth. The appeal of the shale formation is boosted by its low operating overheads, with lifting costs of around $5 per barrel, and Buenos Aires' commitment to attracting investment by easing regulation, with capital controls to be removed in early 2026. For these reasons, Argentina's oil production is on track to exceed one million barrels per day by 2030, cementing its place as South America's third-largest oil producer. By Matthew Smith for More Top Reads From this article on
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vaca Muerta Shrugs Off Frac Cuts With Record Oil and Gas Gains
Argentina's booming Vaca Muerta shale play isn't immune to the decline in oil prices and company spending this year. Drilling activity is set for a near-term slowdown as foreign firms and the biggest domestic producer YPF SA are pulling out some frac crews amid lower international oil prices and a major asset reshuffle with mergers and acquisitions in recent months. But the long-term prospects of the Vaca Muerta shale resources—one of the world's biggest—remain intact, and Argentina is looking to monetize both the oil and gas production. Vaca Muerta—Spanish for 'dead cow'—has been dubbed the Argentinian Permian, although its geologic properties have been compared more appropriately to the Eagle Ford. The 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 and the fourth-biggest shale oil resource. In the first quarter of 2025, Vaca Muerta built on last year's strong production performance, with oil output surging 26% and gas production rising 16% year-on-year, Rystad Energy has is rising, but the number of drilling rigs was down as of the end of July compared to the same time last year. Some companies are pulling out rigs and crews amid reduced spending. As a result, drilling activity in Vaca Muerta is set for a near-term weakness, according to Horacio Marin, chief executive at Argentina's oil and gas giant YPF. 'We might have to pull out a couple of fracking crews,' Marin said at an energy conference in Argentina, adding that this is 'basically because of the slowdown we are seeing from international partners.' However, the slowdown is part of a 'new normal' for Argentina and Vaca Muerta, YPF's top executive noted. 'We have to get used to a normal Argentina, where activity slows down a bit when the price of oil drops,' Marin said. Five rigs out of operation in Vaca Muerta is not a cause for concern, he said, expressing optimism in the medium and long-term prospects of the shale play. 'Personally, I believe nothing can stop Vaca Muerta anymore,' Marin commented. Currently, companies are responding to the lower oil prices and the consolidation drive that has seen several major deals in recent months. In April, local independent firm Vista Energy bought the stake of Malaysia's Petronas in the prolific La Amarga Chica (LACh) unconventional concession in Vaca Muerta. This week, TotalEnergies announced the sale of its 45% operated interest in two unconventional oil and gas blocks in Vaca Muerta, Rincon La Ceniza and La Escalonada, to YPF for $500 million. But TotalEnergies remains fully committed to Argentina, where it operates a large unconventional area of 183,000 net acres in Vaca Muerta. Deals and other strategic positioning of foreign firms show that Argentina may have reversed its fortunes and become an attractive investment destination. In a notable recent reversal, Norway's Equinor – which had planned to exit the shale play – has reconsidered its earlier decision and will now remain in the region, Rystad Energy noted in June. The end of monetary restrictions in Argentina and the improvement in infrastructure and export viability have prompted Equinor to remain in Vaca Muerta. 'A shift in Equinor's stance has marked something of a turning point, reaffirming international confidence in Argentina's shale resurgence,' Rystad Energy said. Despite the short-term slowdown, expectations for the longer term are that Argentina has finally entered a period of oil and gas production growth after years of waiting for Vaca Muerta to start paying off. YPF's Marin says the company 'can develop all of Vaca Muerta' at oil prices as low as $45 per barrel. The shale play can also deliver so much natural gas that it could make Argentina a major LNG exporter. But the country needs to build up infrastructure to ship the gas from supply centers to interstate regional pipelines and planned LNG export facilities. This could be made possible with continued reforms to attract foreign investment and reverse decades of investors shunning the country due to economic and fiscal instability. Argentina has several LNG export projects in the works. YPF, for example, has signed agreements with international majors Shell and Eni to enter the project development of the Argentina LNG project, which includes gas production from Vaca Muerta gas blocks and its transportation through pipelines. These pipelines will extend 580 kilometers (360 miles) to a processing and liquefaction terminal to be built in Sierra Grande, Rio Negro, on the Atlantic coast. Argentina has already taken a final investment decision (FID) on a floating liquefaction facility with a capacity of up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). It is also evaluating an additional 3.5 Mtpa unit under the Southern Energy consortium consisting of Pan American Energy, Pampa, Harbour Energy, YPF, and Golar. 'Vaca Muerta's strong oil gains are no surprise anymore as its track record speaks for itself. However, what we're seeing now is that gas is stealing the spotlight,' says Radhika Bansal, vice president for Upstream Research at Rystad Energy. 'To leverage this momentum, the country is actively pursuing a bold, multi-phase national LNG export strategy, meaning Argentina could soon become a pivotal player in global gas supply, significantly reshaping markets and energy geopolitics.' By Tsvetana Paraskova for More Top Reads From this article on Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Reuters
07-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Argentina's YPF Q2 profit slumps nearly 90% on lower fuel prices
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Argentina's state-controlled energy company YPF ( opens new tab on Thursday reported a nearly 90% plunge in second-quarter net profit to $58 million, dragged down by lower fuel prices. Revenues dropped 6% from a year earlier to $4.64 billion, as softer prices for refined products and lower seasonal demand for naphtha weighed on sales. YPF's performance is a critical indicator for Argentina's economy, which is relying on the Vaca Muerta formation in its push to become a net energy exporter. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) – a key measure of profitability – came in at $1.12 billion for the April-June period, down 7% from a year earlier. Analysts polled by LSEG had on average expected an adjusted EBITDA of $1.17 billion from revenues of $4.49 billion. Benchmark Brent crude, opens new tab prices averaged $67 per barrel in the second quarter, down from $75 in the previous three months and $85 a year earlier. The weaker Brent prices, alongside reduced conventional output after YPF sold off mature fields, dragged down upstream sales by some 10%. Downstream sales, which declined 6%, were also hit by lower fuel prices, though strong diesel and agricultural demand helped to partially offset the drop. The results come as Argentina faces a major legal battle after a U.S. judge ordered the government to hand over its 51% stake in YPF to partially satisfy a $16.1 billion judgment tied to a 2012 expropriation of a stake from Spain's Repsol ( opens new tab.
Bloomberg
06-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
YPF to Buy Total's Argentina Shale Assets for $500 Million
Argentina's state-run energy firm YPF SA agreed to buy some of TotalEnergies SE 's assets in the Vaca Muerta shale patch for $500 million, as international oil giants continue to divest acreage in the country despite investor optimism about pro-market President Javier Milei. YPF will take over Total's stakes in the La Escalonada and Rincon La Ceniza blocks of Vaca Muerta, according to a company filing Wednesday. The blocks lie in an underdeveloped corner of Argentina's burgeoning Vaca Muerta shale formation where Chevron Corp. also has a key asset. Bloomberg News first reported on the sale Tuesday.
