Argentina registered a Energy surplus According to the Department of Energy, energy demand between January and October was $6,067 million, an increase of $1,745 million compared to the same period in 2024. It’s about the best result for the industry over the last 35 years.
In October 2025, the energy trade balance showed one positive balance of $708 million. This figure represented 88.5% of the country’s total trade surplus, which reached $800 million that month.
Vaca Muerta: YPF reached a production record of 200,000 barrels per day
The sector’s performance was mainly explained by record oil production exceeded the historic mark of May 1998when 858,329 barrels per day were pumped. In this record, Vaca Muerta contributed 587,190 barrels per day, accounting for 68.3% of the total, with unconventional oil predominating and accounting for 96.7% (567,802 barrels per day).
Forecasts on Vaca Muerta and prospects for the coming years
The latest FOPEA study, “Vaca Muerta: Argentina’s Energy Engine,” suggested that the continued growth of gas and oil production in the Neuquén Basin will make this possible ensure self-sufficiency and position the country as relevant exporter. As of December 2019, Neuquén has been the province with the highest hydrocarbon production nationwide.
It is estimated that exports related to Vaca Muerta development – including natural gas, LNG and crude oil – could total around $40 billion over the next five years would exceed income traditionally generated by the Agricultural sector.
The central bank estimates that energy will be the country’s main source of foreign exchange by 2030, increasing total exports from $89.5 billion in 2024 (15.4% of GDP) to $143.8 billion in 2030 (17.8% of GDP). These projections drive the strong momentum of Vaca Muerta in a context marked by Progress of the energy transition and global climate requirements.
The stages of the value chain
The study identified three phases in the Vaca Muerta value chain: upstream, midstream and downstream.
– Upstream: includes the exploration and exploitation processes for both oil and unconventional gas. This phase identifies formations with potential and uses techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to release the hydrocarbons retained in the rock.
Argentina will export gas from Vaca Muerta to Europe under a historic energy deal
– Midstream: includes transportation to processing centers. Oil is transported via pipelines or tankers to refineries, while gas is transported via pipelines or as LNG to plants where it is dried, cleaned and separated into its components.
– Downstream: involves the refining of oil to produce fuels such as gasoline, diesel or kerosene, which are then sold on various markets. In the case of gas, processing allows the separation of methane, ethane or propane for industrial use, power generation or export.
What is dead cow?
Vaca Muerta is a geological formation composed of schist or schist, a type of sedimentary rock, located at a depth of about 3,000 meters and having an estimated surface area of about 3,000 meters 30,000 and 36,000 square kilometers. It includes areas of Neuquén – where most of the deposit is located -, Río Negro, La Pampa and Mendoza.
What Vaca Muerta’s growth needs to sustain itself
It is part of the Neuquén Basin, one of the five producing basins of hydrocarbons in the country and is notable for being the only shale formation in Argentina. In contrast to conventional reservoirs, gas and oil in shale rocks do not accumulate in cavities, but remain retained in the bedrock itself.
Finally, due to low permeability, extraction requires unconventional methods. For this, hydraulic fracturing or fracking is used, which consists of horizontal perforations with several levels of stimulation on the rock to release the hydrocarbons.
GZ/lr
About The Author
