Neuquen Province
Vaca Muerta: 68% of Argentine oil, production 10x in decade. $9B investment 2024; 308 TCF gas reserves. Third in South America. By 2026: testing if pipeline infrastructure enables continued expansion.
Neuquén Province hosts Vaca Muerta—the shale formation that transformed Argentina from energy importer to net exporter, producing 68% of national oil by 2024 and positioning the country as potential top-20 oil exporter by 2030. The geological inheritance: 308 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas plus 16 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate, ranking Argentina among world's top five shale resource holders.
The production trajectory demonstrates exponential growth. Between 2014-2024, Vaca Muerta oil production expanded tenfold from 45,000 to 453,000 barrels daily (December 2024). Total Argentine oil hit 702,000 barrels/day—10.5% year-over-year increase and record high. Gas production reached 139.5 million cubic meters/day, highest in 21 years, with Vaca Muerta contributing 54.8% of national output.
Investment matched production ambition. Neuquén basin operators planned $9.05 billion collective spend in 2024—record for the province. YPF alone spent $3 billion on unconventional acreage. Infrastructure followed: the $250 million Vaca Muerta North pipeline completed October 2024 enables 160,000 barrels/day transport; the $1.2 billion Oldelval expansion reaches 750,000 barrels/day capacity in 2025.
Energy exports reached $8.53 billion in 2024 (11% of total), with trade surplus at $4.7 billion. Argentina overtook Colombia to become South America's third-largest oil producer, reducing gas imports 60% within two years.
By 2026, Neuquén tests whether infrastructure expansion keeps pace with production growth, or whether pipeline constraints create bottlenecks that limit the shale boom's full potential.