Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play just got two new heavyweight partners. Eni SpA and XRG PJSC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co investment arm, each take 32 percent stakes in three blocks. YPF SA, the state-controlled operator, keeps 36 percent.
That ownership split is the result of a swap transaction YPF completed with Pluspetrol earlier this year. The blocks involved — Aguada Villanueva, Las Tacanas, and Meseta Buena Esperanza — are now positioned to feed a much larger project.
What happens next
The three companies signed a joint development agreement for Argentina LNG back in 2026. That agreement calls for two floating liquefaction facilities. Combined capacity: 12 million metric tons per annum.
That is the concrete number to watch. XRG stated online that the upstream assets will supply the gas volumes needed to feed those floating LNG units.
The company also said the deal supports monetization of condensates associated with gas production. No timeline for first LNG cargo was given in the announcement. For XRG, this is a specific step toward a stated target.
On June 3, 2025, the company announced its aim to build a top-five integrated gas and LNG business. The target capacity: 20-25 million metric tons per annum by 2035.
Vaca Muerta gas is now part of that math. ADNOC launched XRG in late 2024. The unit leads the United Arab Emirates’ expansion into natural gas, low-carbon energy, and chemical markets.
Argentina gives XRG a physical foothold in one of the world’s largest unconventional gas basins. Argentina’s potential role in global gas supply is the strategic logic here. The country holds massive shale resources.
Projects like Argentina LNG aim to connect those resources to international buyers. That connection requires the floating facilities to be built, financed, and operated.
No construction start date has been announced. No final investment decision has been made public. The joint development agreement from 2026 laid out the framework.
The stake acquisitions now lock in the upstream supply. YPF retains operating control of the three blocks with its 36 percent interest.
That means YPF will run day-to-day drilling and production. Eni and XRG are effectively partners in the wellhead, not just the LNG plant. The floating LNG approach is notable.
Two facilities, each presumably 6 million metric tons per annum, will sit offshore or nearshore. That avoids building pipelines across the Andes or through the entire country. Gas from Vaca Muerta moves a shorter distance to the coast.
Condensates — the liquid hydrocarbons that come with gas production — add another revenue stream. XRG specifically mentioned monetizing those.
That improves project economics. Investors watching Argentina’s energy sector now have a concrete ownership structure to track. Three companies, two international and one state-controlled, are aligned on a 12-million-ton LNG project.
The upstream blocks are secured. The development agreement is signed.
The next milestones: financing, construction contracts, and a final investment decision. None of those have dates yet. But the ownership is settled.
The gas is there. The target is set.
