State-controlled energy company YPF says it has agreed, together with Vista, Shell Argentina and Equinor, a deal to export shale oil from the Vaca Muerta formation to Chile under a long-term deal with Chile’s state oil firm Empresa Nacional de Petróleo (ENAP).
The companies said the agreement could generate export revenues of up to US$12 billion over its lifetime, although no detailed breakdown of the estimate was provided.
Under the deal, the producers will supply an initial combined volume of 70,000 barrels per day, with contracts running through to June 2033.
The agreement builds on closer commercial ties with Enap following the refurbishment of the Trans-Andean Oil Pipeline (Oleoducto Trasandino, OTA) and the completion of the Vaca Muerta Norte oil pipeline, infrastructure that allows crude produced in Neuquén province to be transported to Chile and potentially onward to Pacific markets.
The OTA pipeline was reactivated in April 2023 after being idle for 17 years due to a lack of exportable crude. Since then, shipments have averaged around 40,000 barrels per day. With the additional volumes agreed under the new contracts, throughput is expected to reach the pipeline’s full capacity of 110,000 barrels per day.
At present, around 40 percent of crude exports from Vaca Muerta are transported through this system. In a joint statement, the companies said the agreement reflects a shared commitment to boosting production and exports and to consolidating Argentina’s position as a reliable energy supplier in international markets.
They added that the deal strengthens strategic energy partnerships and could have a significant economic and geopolitical impact in the region.
Separately, YPF said last week that its shale oil output had reached a record 200,000 barrels per day, an increase of 82 percent in less than two years. YPF president and chief executive Horacio Marín attributed the growth to operational changes, technological upgrades and the adoption of new management practices.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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