Vaca Muerta

Argentina is scheduled to announce the winners of bids in the natural gas tender program on Dec. 15, according to Energy Secretary Darío Martinez. Winning companies are to be judged based on a “mechanism that guarantees transparency and competitiveness between producers,” according to Martinez. The aim of the tender program is to reverse falling natural…

Executives at Argentina’s state energy firm Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales SA (YPF) said their oil and gas fields are starting to return to work after the complete shutdown in April that became “the worst” month in the company’s history. Argentina responded to the arrival of the coronavirus in March with strict lockdown measures that have only…

Argentina President Alberto Fernández unveiled the country’s long-awaited natural gas scheme on Thursday from the heart of the Vaca Muerta shale formation in Neuquén province. “We’re convinced that we are investing in Argentina for the country’s development,” Fernández said. The president spoke from the oil and gas fields at Loma Campana, considered one of the…

Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation has “enormous potential” and natural gas will form an important part of energy strategy in post-coronavirus Argentina, according to Dr. Javier Papa, Argentina’s undersecretary of energy planning at the Energy Secretariat.  Speaking at the “Insights for defining Latin America’s regional energy agenda for a Post-Covid-19 era” virtual event organized by…

Natural gas production in Argentina fell by 14.1% year/year in August to 124.1 million cubic meters/day (MMm3/d), or 4.38 Bcf/d, according to the latest report by the IAE Argentine Energy Institute. Production was down from 4.47 Bcf/d in July.  Analysts attributed the drop to restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Argentina has had…

Argentina’s Energy Secretary Dario Martínez spoke virtually with Brazil Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque on Tuesday to discuss further energy integration between the two countries. Part of the discussion revolved around a natural gas scheme to boost production in Argentina set to be announced “soon” that could benefit Brazil gas consumers, according to a statement from…

Macroeconomic and political uncertainty could stymie development of Argentina’s vast Vaca Muerta shale play in western Argentina, leading to a greater need for natural gas imports. “There is a lot of uncertainty because of the exchange rate, macroeconomic conditions, and fracking activity which is almost halted, not only due to the pandemic effect but because…

A potential natural gas pipeline hooking up Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation to southern Brazil will cost about $5 billion and “pose financial challenges,” according to Buenos Aires-based Wood Mackenzie. “Southern Brazil remains the most attractive regional market for potential excess gas production from Argentina,” Wood Mackenzie principal Ignacio Rooney told NGI’s Shale Daily. However,…

Natural gas production in Argentina fell by 12.2% year/year in July to 126.8 million cubic meters/day (MMm3/d), or 4.47 Bcf/d, according to the latest report by the IAE Argentine Energy Institute. Production was essentially flat compared to June.  Analysts attributed the drop to restrictions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Argentina has had one…