Category: Argentina

Russian Foreign Minister said Wednesday he was interested in encouraging more investments in the Argentine energy sector. Lavrov met in Moscow with Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman to discuss prospects for future energy cooperation as well as Argentina’s bid to join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in the five-member economic association dubbed BRICS. Lavrov said the outlook for Russian investments in the Argentinean energy sector was strong. "We aren’t just interested in ways to diversify our trade relations but actually want to focus on investment," he said . Russia expressed interest in Argentina’s energy market in 2012 following the nationalization of the country’s YPF energy company. Russian energy companies have a presence in Venezuela and Russian energy company Gazprom is exploring for natural gas in that country as part of a Russian consortium. Both sides have focused on development the Vaca Muerta shale site […]

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MADRID, May 23 (UPI) –Spanish oil company Repsol said Friday it sold off its stake in Argentina’s YPF and the bonds it received from the nationalization of the state energy company. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed legislation in 2012 to seize the YPF shares held by the Spanish energy company Repsol said Friday it completed the sale of its assets in Argentina to JP Morgan Securities including the bonds it received as compensation for the expropriation of its 51 percent stake in YPF. "From the sale of the entire holding of Argentinean bonds, Repsol has obtained a total $4.99 billion in compensation for the expropriation," Repsol said in a statement . "This extinguishes the $5 billion debt recognized by Argentina." Repsol’s board of directors rejected a compensation offer made in June by the Argentine government. That deal would have given Repsol drilling rights to Argentina’s vast Vaca […]

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BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (UPI) –U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil said its affiliate in Argentina discovered oil and natural gas in the Vaca Muerta shale play in the country’s Neuquen province. ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina, alongside its regional partner, said it was carrying out additional analysis at the Bajo del Choique X-2 well after confirming an oil and gas discovery. Appraisal wells will need to be drilled before Exxon makes a commercial decision on the area, but the company expressed optimism about the potential. "Not all shales are alike, so our first Exxon Mobil-operated discovery in the Vaca Muerta play is a very positive sign that the shale in this area of Neuquen province holds great promise as a liquids-rich unconventional resource for Argentina," Stephen Greenlee, president of Exxon Mobil Exploration Co. said in a statement Wednesday. The U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration estimates Argentina has 774 trillion cubic […]

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BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (UPI) –U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil said its affiliate in Argentina discovered oil and natural gas in the Vaca Muerta shale play in the country’s Neuquen province. ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina, alongside its regional partner, said it was carrying out additional analysis at the Bajo del Choique X-2 well after confirming an oil and gas discovery. Appraisal wells will need to be drilled before Exxon makes a commercial decision on the area, but the company expressed optimism about the potential. "Not all shales are alike, so our first Exxon Mobil-operated discovery in the Vaca Muerta play is a very positive sign that the shale in this area of Neuquen province holds great promise as a liquids-rich unconventional resource for Argentina," Stephen Greenlee, president of Exxon Mobil Exploration Co. said in a statement Wednesday. The U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration estimates Argentina has 774 trillion cubic […]

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The three provinces holding Argentina’s largest shale oil and gas deposits will jointly challenge a push by federally owned YPF SA (YPF) to take control of the auction and renewal of licenses, three officials said. Jorge Sapag, Francisco Perez and Martin Buzzi — governors of Neuquen, Mendoza and Chubut, respectively — met in Buenos Aires on May 13 and agreed to impel their congressional representatives to oppose any move to federalize licensing processes, the provincial officials briefed on the matter said. They asked not to be identified because the talks were private. The three governors weren’t available to comment, their assistants said by telephone. Alejandro Di Lazzaro, a YPF spokesman in Buenos Aires, declined to comment. The fight underscores political tensions derived from unclear rules governing Argentina’s nascent shale boom. For prospective license holders, a single federal system would remove the need to negotiate with two levels of government. […]

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Argentina reduced government subsidies on natural gas and water by an average 20 percent in a bid to narrow the largest fiscal deficit in more than a decade. The government could save as much as 13 billion pesos ($1.6 billion) and will use proceeds to cover utility company costs and finance social spending, Economy Minister Axel Kicillof and Planning Minister Julio De Vido said today at a press conference in Buenos Aires. The cuts won’t apply to industrial users. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has boosted social spending since taking office in 2007 and left utility rates largely unchanged amid average annual inflation of about 25 percent, straining the finances of power distribution companies and leading to periodic blackouts. Argentina, which has subsidized utilities since 2003, wants to cut aid from about 5 percent of gross domestic product to 2 percent of GDP and make higher income earners pay […]

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U.S. energy company Apache Corp. said it was selling off its operations in Argentina to better focus on drilling operations in North America. Apache and its subsidiaries agreed to sell all operations in the country to YPF Sociedad Anonima for $800 million cash plus the assumption of $52 million of bank debt. G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive officer at Apache, said the company spent much of the year focusing on shaping its portfolio to enhance its "deep inventory" in North America. "This transaction is consistent with that strategy," he said in a statement Wednesday. Apache said it averaged 256 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in terms of production and estimates its reserves in Argentina at approximately 540 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Miquel Galuccio, president of YPF, said the acquisition is an "excellent opportunity" for his company, already […]

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More The whole world knows that shale revolutionized the U.S. energy industry. Now oil and gas executives are salivating when they think of Argentina’s booming shale industry. Argentina ranks second in the world, behind China, in potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, with 802 trillion cubic feet, according to a study last October by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Argentina also ranks fourth in shale oil with an estimated 27 billion barrels. In July, YPF and Chevron inked a deal to spend $1.2 billion to further develop shale oil and gas resources in the Vaca Muerta  formation. The deal calls for an initial phase in which 100 wells will be drilled in a 5,000-acre tract in the Loma La Lata Norte and Loma Campana areas. Chevron said the deal gives it the chance to grow production beyond its 2017 target of 3.3 million barrels per day. Chevron says shale will help […]

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More The whole world knows that shale revolutionized the U.S. energy industry. Now oil and gas executives are salivating when they think of Argentina’s booming shale industry. Argentina ranks second in the world, behind China, in potentially recoverable shale-gas reserves, with 802 trillion cubic feet, according to a study last October by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Argentina also ranks fourth in shale oil with an estimated 27 billion barrels. In July, YPF and Chevron inked a deal to spend $1.2 billion to further develop shale oil and gas resources in the Vaca Muerta  formation. The deal calls for an initial phase in which 100 wells will be drilled in a 5,000-acre tract in the Loma La Lata Norte and Loma Campana areas. Chevron said the deal gives it the chance to grow production beyond its 2017 target of 3.3 million barrels per day. Chevron says shale will help […]

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A successful oil exploration program in Argentina should lead to a promising development opportunity, Andes Energia’s Alejandro Jotayan said Monday. Jotayan, chief executive officer of the company based in London, said its partners at YPF, an energy company in Argentina, started the exploration campaign in the Vaca Muerta, Chachao and Agrio reserve areas in the Neuquen basin. "A successful program will provide Andes and YPF with the opportunity to develop a large and promising area with unconventional and conventional resources potential," he said in a statement published by energy news website Rigzone. Andes said the exploration campaign targets an area already shown to contain oil. Energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie described the Vaca Muerta region as one of the best shale reserve areas in the world. Vaca Muerta, located in Neuquen province, holds 741 million barrels of recoverable oil, the U.S. Energy Information Administration […]

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