Oil production was a record in 20 years and Vaca Muerta dollars pay the debt

Oil production in Argentina during 2024 was the highest in the last 20 yearswith figures that have not been reached since 2004 – the historical record was in 1998 and in 2017 there was a floor that had not been touched since 1979 -.

Besides, natural gas production also had strong growth, to return to levels that have not been recorded since at least 2008 -the historical ceiling, in this case, had been in 2004-.

In that way, The trade balance of the energy sector was positive by about 5,000 million dollars, equivalent to debt maturities which the Treasury had to pay a few days ago with private creditors. The main reason was the drop in natural gas imports, thanks to the greater transportation capacity of local production with the former Gasoducto Presidente Néstor Kirchner (GPNK, today Gasoducto Perito Francisco Pascasio Moreno).

The final data for last year will be known in the coming days, based on the results of international trade published by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec). AND It is expected that in 2025 the energy surplus will exceed US$ 8 billionwith a strong increase in crude oil exports.

The consolidated production records will be at the end of the month, but the trend indicated that thanks to the activity in Dead Cow Production was on track to remain above 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil nationally, with monthly marks at the end of 2024 that equaled the numbers from 2003 and an annual cumulative figure that would have been slightly lower than that of that year, but with a growth close to 10%.

According to the data of Aleph Energy based on the records of the Ministry of Energy, non-conventional production (shale y tight oil) had reached 438,000 barrels per day, a figure that will grow this year from the expansion of the crude oil evacuation capacity of the Neuquén Basin through Oleoductos del Valle (Oldelval): there are almost 315,000 extra bpd dedicated exclusively to exports through of the OilTanking Ebytem (OTE) buoys in Puerto Rosales, Buenos Aires.

YPF It is the oil company that produces the most crude oil, with almost 360,000 barrels per day; It is followed by Pan American Energy (PAE), with just under 110,000 bpd; Vistawith more than 70,000 barrels; Pluspetrolwith almost 45,000 and a prominent future due to the purchase of the assets of the American ExxonMobil; and the Anglo-Dutch Shellwith more than 30,000.

These five companies, together with the American multinational Chevron and Pampa Energy They will be partners in the construction of the pipeline for about 3,000 million dollars Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS)which starting in 2027 will allow the transportation of another 750,000 barrels per day from Neuquén to Punta Colorada, in Río Negro, where there will be a mega port terminal to load large oil tankers.

Regarding natural gas production, the average for the first 11 months of the year was 142.5 million m3 per day (MMm3/d), with YPF as the main owner and the French company TotalEnergies as the main operator, followed by PAE. , Tecpetrol, Pampa Energía and the British Harbor Energy, which purchased the assets of the German Wintershall Dea worldwide.

Las investments To achieve these figures they exceeded 11.35 billion dollars and were mainly oriented to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) with tons of sand and high-pressure water to stimulate the Vaca Muerta bedrock.