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Argentine: YPF compte investir 25 milliards de dollars pour creuser 1.152 puits de pétrole

Connaissance des Énergies avec AFP le 16 mai 2026

La compagnie pétrolière publique argentine YPF a annoncé vendredi son intention d'investir 25 milliards de dollars sur 15 ans pour creuser 1.152 puits de pétrole, le plus grand projet de ce genre dans l'histoire du pays.

YPF a demandé son adhésion au Régime d'incitation des grands investissements (RIGI), un dispositif mis en place en 2024 par le gouvernement de l'ultralibéral Javier Milei pour offrir des avantages fiscaux, douaniers et cambiaires pendant 30 ans pour les investissements de plus de 200 millions de dollars.

Le projet, baptisé LLL Oil, "prévoit le percement de 1.152 puits" dans la région pétrolifère de Vaca Muerta (sud) et une production de 240.000 barils de brut par jour, entièrement destinée à l'exportation, à partir de 2032, a expliqué YPF dans un communiqué. A cette date, les exportations devraient rapporter au groupe "environ 6 milliards de dollars par an", a-t-il estimé.

L'Argentine est devenue ces dernières années un pays exportateur net de pétrole, principalement grâce au méga-gisement de Vaca Muerta, dans le nord-ouest de la Patagonie, considéré comme la deuxième réserve mondiale de gaz de schiste et la quatrième mondiale pour le pétrole de schiste. L'exploitation de Vaca Muerta a toutefois été freinée par le haut niveau d'investissement nécessaire, en particulier pour la fracturation hydraulique.

Les hydrocarbures représentent désormais 13,5% des exportations argentines, encore loin derrière l'agro-alimentaire (60%).

JPMorgan and Santander Lead $15 Billion Financing Push for Argentina LNG

By Irina Slav - Aug 25, 2026

JP Morgan and Santander will lead a fundraising operation for Argentina LNG, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources who said the total could reach $15 billion. One of these told the publication the companies involved in the project aimed to make a final investment decision by November.

The Argentina LNG project is a partnership between Italy’s Eni, Argentinian state energy major YPF, and Emirati XRG. The facility is to be built on Argentina’s Atlantic coast and have an annual production capacity of 12 million tons of liquefied gas, potentially ramping up to 18 million tons, according to the companies involved.

The project has a total price tag of $24 billion and will include, besides two floating liquefaction trains, two cross-country pipelines and a plant for the production of natural gas liquids, the Bloomberg report also said. The sum is higher than Argentina’s loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which stands at $20 billion. With LNG projects often exceeding their original budget, chances are the difference may end up even greater.

The Argentina LNG project will source its gas from the Vaca Muerta shale play, which has the world’s second-largest technically recoverable shale gas resources after the U.S. Marcellus. According to the partners in the project, Argentina as a whole has the potential to eventually produce 24 million tons of liquefied gas annually.

Vaca Muerta has already made Argentina the fourth-largest oil producer in Latin America—a position that may improve in the future as the government prioritizes the development of the local energy industry, encouraging infrastructure projects aiming to boost the offtake capacity of the Vaca Muerta. Natural gas output, per the latest data, stood at 5.5 billion cubic feet daily, near the all-time high of 5.7 billion cubic feet daily recorded for July 2025. Vaca Muerta’s natural gas resources are estimated at some 308 trillion cubic feet.

Vaca Muerta Estimated to Hold 9B Barrels of Sub $55 Oil Resource

by Andreas Exarheas|Rigzone Staff | Friday, September 04, 2026

In a statement sent to Rigzone recently, Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, revealed that it has released a new report that found that Argentina’s Vaca Muerta play “has the resource depth and well productivity to support more than a decade of continued oil and gas development” in the country.

New delineation and licensing have expanded the commercially viable inventory identified across Vaca Muerta, EIR noted in the statement, pointing out that the play is now estimated to contain 8.7 billion barrels of sub-$55 West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil resource and 109 trillion cubic feet of sub-$3 Henry Hub gas resource.

“Under the development assumptions analyzed in the report, Vaca Muerta has more than 10 years of remaining oil and gas inventory life, providing a substantial runway for continued development,” EIR said in the statement.

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“Production is on track toward one million barrels per day by 2030 as infrastructure buildout, capital deployment, and operational learning accelerate,” Wood Mackenzie said.
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“Gas production is projected to exceed seven billion cubic feet per day post-2030, reflecting sustained growth alongside oil development,” it added.
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Wood Mackenzie warned in its statement that meeting Vaca Muerta’s production targets requires sustained upstream and midstream capital expenditure, adding that more than $100 billion of total investment is required over the next decade, “spanning drilling, pipelines, and processing”.
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