Companies operating in Argentina seek to finance record investments in dollars

Investment in energy and infrastructure related in Argentina could reach US$60 billion in the next five years according to Goldman Sachs estimates, as companies seek to develop infrastructure in the Vaca Muerta oil and gas megafield, one of the largest in the world.

Most of that money will have to come from abroadsaid bankers from major Wall Street firms, signaling a strong boost for Argentina’s overseas bond sales.

“We are entering a robust, capital-intensive investment cycle to develop Vaca Muerta, the surrounding infrastructure, and mining and energy,” he told the Bloomberg agency Lisandro Miguenshead of debt capital markets for Latin America at JP Morgan. “This will lead to issues in the primary market to finance capital expenditure instead of refinancing maturities.”

Vaca Muerta’s production is around 600,000 barrels of oil per day. Sector players are targeting production of more than 1 million barrels a day by 2030 as infrastructure develops around the basin, which is home to the world’s fourth-largest shale reserve and second-largest shale gas reserve.

Vaca Muerta and an incipient mining sector They are central to President Javier Milei’s strategy to increase foreign currency income. Energy exports totaled $11.1 billion last year and the government projects they will triple to $36.7 billion by the end of the decade as pipelines and export terminals come online. Already, the increase in energy shipments from Vaca Muerta and a wave of debt in dollars by local companies are helping the country’s currency, battered for years, outperforms its peers.

Argentine companies, which went to the markets with a wave of operations to refinance debt last year, issued US$2.1 billion in dollar bonds in the first three months of 2026. While it may not seem like much by global standards, It marked the busiest first quarter for local companies since 2017.

The gas carrier TGS last month announced infrastructure investments of US$3 billion. JPMorgan is also working on what could become the largest project financing deal in Argentina, with the goal of raising nearly US$ 14,000 million for the state oil company YPF. Meanwhile, JPMorgan and Citigroup are negotiating to finance a $1 billion pipeline.

In mining, among other projects, McEwen Copper is in talks to obtain financing for its Los Azules project, valued at US$4 billion, he indicated. Bloomberg.

The company is talking to multiple export credit agencies, including the U.S. Export-Import Bank, to structure financing tied to the equipment purchase, said CEO Michael Meding. There are also discussions with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), as well as financial groups in Europe and Japan, Meding said.

The war in Iran hurt the recovery in bond sales last month, but is unlikely to curb issuance for long, especially given new interest in energy sources.

“Once the market absorbs the war issue and the oil price stabilizes, I think it will be a solid year for debt in Latin America,” he said. Adrián Guzzoni, regional head of debt capital markets at Citigroup. “He appetite “It is there and companies that look for financing will find the open market.”

As long as volatility decreases, he added, 2026 should be in line with the record volumes that placements had last year. “Or even better,” he added.

Although corporate issuance has been active, Argentina as a country has not yet returned to the market.

“The market is open for Argentina to exit,” said Sebastián Lotekhead of investment banking for the Southern Cone in Bank of America. “It’s a decision of when the government wants to leave, depending on the rate.”

With the country risk close to 600 basis points (that is, Argentina should pay 6 points more to finance itself than the United States pays), The government has chosen to depend until now on the purchase of reserves and local sources for financing. Economy Minister Luis Caputo has argued that Argentina should be able to borrow at significantly lower levels, closer to 250–300 basis points on US Treasury bonds, reflecting the country’s fiscal adjustment and macroeconomic stabilization.

However, investors believe that those levels are out of reach in the short term and they maintain that the government missed a window earlier in January, when spreads hit an eight-year low.

“It seems to me that when the next window is there, they should go on the market,” Loketek said. “I understand the reasons, but Argentina’s country risk is clearly high and has a way to compress.”