Vaca Muerta is experiencing a shift in its corporate landscape as large multinational oil companies exit, paving the way for local firms and state-owned companies to take their place.
Vaca Muerta, renowned as the world's most attractive unconventional oil and gas formation due to its resource quality, is undergoing a significant corporate realignment. Over the past year and a half, many large multinational oil companies have begun to exit Argentina, prompting local and foreign firms to fill the void. Advanced transactions highlight this trend, as ExxonMobil divested its undeveloped shale oil fields to Pluspetrol for $1.7 billion, and YPF acquired a shale gas area from ExxonMobil in partnership with Qatar Energy for $327 million.
This series of transactions suggests that multinational companies have reassessed the value of their assets in Argentina, recognizing their worth after remaining constrained by currency controls limiting their ability to repatriate profits. The current economic and political risks associated with Argentina may have pushed these firms to prioritize stability and operational ease, thereby choosing to retreat from a challenging market environment.
The retreat of multinationals opens opportunities for local companies to strengthen their positions in the oil and gas sector, potentially allowing state-owned entities to emerge more prominently. As the corporate landscape shifts, it is crucial to monitor how this evolution in Vaca Muerta impacts the future of energy production in Argentina and whether it leads to a more localized control of valuable resources or a further entrenchment of state influence in the industry.
