Argentine Neuquen Region Hit New Oil Export Record In June

The Argentine province of Neuquen exported a record 2.77m bbls of oil in June, according to the local government, driven by higher production at Vaca Muerta.

• Of total production, 29% was exported. Neuquen also exported 108.48 million cubic meters of natural gas in June.
• The Vaca Muerta formation is expected to move even more natural gas in coming months, after a pipeline running from Neuquen to Buenos Aires came online in early July, according to Reuters.
• Vaca Muerta is the world’s second-largest shale gas reserve and the fourth-largest shale oil reserve. It could help wean Argentina off energy imports and boost its position as a producer.
• However, Argentina’s overall expected oil production growth has not progressed despite post-pandemic annual increases of 10-12% according to Kpler. Upstream activity remains only half of the peak of the Vaca Muerta drilling in 2014-2015.