Argentina Launches Largest Vaca Muerta Auction Since 2016 With 15 Exploration Blocks

Argentina launched an auction offering 15 new exploration blocks in the Vaca Muerta shale play, the largest bid round since 2016 and more than double the six blocks offered in the previous provincial auction. The 15 blocks are offered through Neuquén provincial company Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP).

They span the condensate-rich northwest, the oil-heavy northeast, and the more frontier southern fringe of the formation.

Vaca Muerta is the largest commercial shale play open to international exploration and production companies outside of North America. Vaca Muerta wells are outperforming the US Permian, Bakken, and Eagle Ford on well productivity measures. Rystad Energy predicts that crude production from Vaca Muerta is on course to reach more than 1 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.

Well breakeven prices across the most prospective Vaca Muerta blocks run between $32 and $49 per barrel. Most transactions in the basin since the last provincial round have been inorganic, primarily acquisitions and farm-in deals rather than fresh acreage. Continental Resources acquired a 90% stake in the Los Toldos II Oeste block and subsequently farmed-in to Pan American Energy assets.

Com reported that the timing of the new auction reflects rising international appetite for non-Middle East supply amid supply chain risks tied to the Strait of Hormuz. Bidders will compete through a combination of working interest carried for GyP, royalties incrementally above the 15% minimum, work program commitments, and an access bonus, with a minimum threshold of $500,000 per block.

" Singh added: "The basin is maturing fast, infrastructure is being built at pace, and the bid terms are designed to attract operators who can bring North American shale expertise to bear.

Local operators also have strong incentives to participate because of existing infrastructure connections, regional geology expertise, and the strategic value of blocks adjacent to their current acreage in Neuquén. New entrants will need to overcome operational and geological challenges, particularly in structurally complex regions closer to the deformation front, where understanding of local faulting, stress regimes, and landing zone variability is required.

Operators are also expected to establish a strong local organization and supply chain presence in Neuquén, as relationships and operational experience have become key differentiators across the basin.

Argentina has spent recent years building pipelines and export terminals to convert Vaca Muerta’s geology into global supply.