Illustrative image (Source: ypf.com) Hanoi (VNA) - Argentina’s state-controlled energy company YPF and Malaysia’s Petronas will form a joint venture to invest 2.3 billion USD over the next four years in the Latin American country’s Vaca Muerta shale oil fields.
State-owned Petronas will have an equal stake in the project through its subsidiary Petronas E&P Argentina SA, Reuters reported on December 5.
Located in western Argentina, Vaca Muerta is regarded as having the world’s second-largest shale gas and fourth-largest shale oil deposits.
The companies’ objective is to reach a production equivalent of 60,000 barrels a day by 2022. Total investment could reach 7 billion USD within 20 years.
Petronas and YPF have already partnered in pilot exploration and production initiatives and will begin development of the unconventional fuel project in the Amarga Chica block in the province of Neuquen.
The announcement is good news for the beleaguered Argentinean government of President Mauricio Macri, which was forced to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year.-VNA
VNA
