Argentina Finally Emerges as a South American Oil Powerhouse | OilPrice.com
Argentina is rapidly emerging as a major South American oil and natural gas producer, driven by the successful exploitation of the massive Vaca Muerta shale play.
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- The Vaca Muerta shale play, discovered in Argentina, contains an estimated 16 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, making it one of the top five unconventional hydrocarbon formations globally.
- Argentina's crude oil production reached an average of 771,888 barrels per day in June 2025, with over 62% attributed to shale oil, positioning the country as Latin America's fourth largest oil producer.
- Significant infrastructure upgrades and substantial investment, including a nearly $36 billion investment plan by national oil company YPF from 2025 to 2030, are poised to further increase Argentina's hydrocarbon output.
