MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
YPF signs agreement with Petronas for shale development in Vaca Muerta
YPF CEO Galuccio has the job of making Argentina again self sufficient Argentina's state oil company YPF announced this week that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a subsidiary of Malaysia's national oil company Petronas for unconventional oil and gas resources development in Argentine Patagonia.
Both companies have agreed to work towards a new investment agreement for developing a 187-square-kilometer area with shale gas potential, located in the northeast zone of Loma Campana, in Neuquen province, said YPF in a statement.
The agreement was signed at YPF headquarters in Buenos Aires by CEO Miguel Galuccio and Petronas president Tan Sri Dato' Shamsul Azhar Abbas, according to an YPF release.
Following the signing of the MOU, the technical teams of both companies will continue working on details, including the feasibility study for starting a joint project and the subsequent negotiations leading to a possible investment agreement, said YPF.
YPF is Argentina's main hydrocarbon producer with a higher than 35% share of the national oil and gas market. It controls 12,000 square kilometers of Vaca Muerta, where the area with shale gas potential mentioned in the MOU is located, and produces more than 20,000 barrels of oil and gas from Vaca Muerta daily.
Meanwhile in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, an YPF statement said that Petronas signed a preliminary agreement with Argentina's YPF to invest in the giant gas and shale oil field at Vaca Muerta at the foot of the Andes.
Argentina has launched a global drive for foreign investment in Vaca Muerta, seen as one of the most potentially lucrative fields in the world.
German firm Wintershall, US giant Chevron and Chinese-Argentine company Bridas have already announced more than 5 billion dollars investment seeking to exploit unconventional hydrocarbons at Vaca Muerta.
French company Total, Russia's Gazprom and Mexico's Pemex have also been approached and showed an interest.
The Argentine government seized a majority stake in YPF in 2012 from Spain's Repsol, arguing the Spanish company was not investing sufficiently in Argentina. There is an ongoing litigation over compensation.
Subsidized fuel and frozen prices at the wells dried up for years investment in oil development converting Argentina from an exporter of oil and gas to a net importer of energy, at a cost of at least 8bn dollars in 2013.
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Read all comments“Following the signing of the MOU, the technical teams of both companies will continue working on details, including the feasibility study for starting a joint project and the subsequent negotiations leading to a possible investment agreement, said YPF.”.......says it all really. If it is happening, it wont be anytime soon. I thought the Mexicans had also studied the feasibility of VM. So far what have they actually concluded ??
Feb 19th, 2014 - 10:34 pm 0It took the USA a decade to develop our shale. We have the money, rigs and the talent. Plus we had a Oil guy as Prez. while it was all going on. (thank goodness)
Feb 19th, 2014 - 10:41 pm 0Argentina has none of that
Pus nobody will invest while CFK is around and probably for a bit afterward to see if the next person is as nutty.
Plus there's the little problem of distribution and refining.
psst its not so little
You'll be buying loads of oil for at least the next 15 yrs.
oil companies invest even in syria.
Feb 19th, 2014 - 11:43 pm 0kirchner is insignificant in that matter.
if oil companies think it is worth to invest in vaca muerta, they will do it, with or without kirchner.
geoscience professionals from 54 companies considered it as one of the biggest shale oil fields in the world, but it seems yanqui disagree with them.
lol
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