It took a swap with Pluspetrol earlier this year to get here. That deal handed YPF SA a 36 percent operating interest in three Vaca Muerta blocks. Now two foreign partners are buying in.
Eni SpA and XRG PJSC each take 32 percent. XRG is the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. ADNOC launched it in late 2024 to push the United Arab Emirates into natural gas, low-carbon energy and chemicals.
The company wants to build a top-five integrated gas and LNG business. It set a target of 20-25 million metric tons per annum by 2035. That was announced on June 3, 2025.
The blocks are Aguada Villanueva, Las Tacanas and Meseta Buena Esperanza. They sit in the Vaca Muerta shale formation.
That is Argentina’s great unconventional prize. A formation that has drawn billions in investment. A formation that keeps promising more.
XRG said in an online statement that the upstream assets are expected to supply the gas volumes needed to feed floating LNG units. The statement also mentioned monetization of condensates associated with gas production. Condensates are the liquid hydrocarbons that come up with the gas.
They have value too. The three companies signed a joint development agreement for Argentina LNG earlier in 2026.
That project consists of two floating liquefaction facilities. Combined capacity: 12 million metric tons per annum. That is a lot of gas.
Enough to matter in global markets. Argentina has the potential to play an increasingly important role in meeting the world’s growing demand for natural gas.
Investors see the strategic logic. The country holds one of the largest shale gas reserves outside North America. But getting that gas to market requires infrastructure.
Pipelines. Liquefaction plants. Ships.
That costs money. Foreign partners bring that money.
They also bring expertise and market access. For XRG, the proposed investment supports its strategy to build a resilient global gas and LNG platform. The company wants upstream participation in one of the world’s most significant unconventional gas basins.
It wants to develop its role in a major new LNG export opportunity. The goal is to connect Vaca Muerta’s gas resources with global markets.
ADNOC’s company added that in its statement. Eni is no stranger to Argentina. The Italian major has been in the country for decades.
It knows the terrain. It knows the geology. It knows the politics.
That matters in Argentina. The country has a history of economic volatility.
Currency controls. Inflation. Policy shifts.
International companies have been burned before. But the gas is there.
The resource base is real. And the world needs more gas. The deal leaves YPF as the operator with 36 percent.
The state-controlled company retains control. That was likely a condition. Argentina’s government has been protective of YPF since renationalizing it in 2012.
Foreign partners are welcome. But YPF leads.
Floating LNG is the key. Building onshore liquefaction plants takes years and costs billions. Floating units can be built in shipyards and towed into place.
They can be deployed faster. They can be moved if conditions change.
That flexibility matters in a volatile world. The numbers tell the story. Two foreign majors taking 32 percent each.
A state company keeping 36 percent. Three blocks in Vaca Muerta. Two floating LNG facilities.
Twelve million metric tons per annum. A target of 20-25 million by 2035.
That is the arithmetic of Argentina’s gas future.
