For now what exists is paper: signed agreements under which Italy’s Eni and Abu Dhabi’s XRG will each take 32% of three upstream blocks in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta basin.
YPF, Argentina’s state oil company, keeps the remaining 36%. Economy Middle East reported the signings on Monday, June 29. They cover Meseta Buena Esperanza, Aguada Villanueva and Las Tacanas, all onshore in the unconventional Vaca Muerta basin and all operated by YPF.
The deals depend on regulatory approval. Until that arrives, the split is a plan rather than a fact.
Gas for floating LNG
The blocks are expected to form a core upstream part of Argentina LNG, a 12 million tonnes per annum project that builds on a joint development agreement XRG, YPF and Eni signed earlier. The plan envisions two floating liquefaction facilities. XRG said the upstream assets should provide the gas volumes those units need, and should also support the sale of condensates linked to gas production.
XRG president for international gas Mohamed Al Aryani framed the purchase as a strategic opening. “Vaca Muerta is one of the world’s most attractive gas resources, and this proposed transaction gives XRG a direct role in helping advance a project with the scale, quality and long-term potential to become a significant new source of reliable LNG supply for global markets,” he said. He also praised YPF as a partner with deep expertise in Argentina’s energy sector, and Eni as a leading developer of floating LNG projects.
Horacio Marín, YPF’s chairman and CEO, was brief. “We are taking another step forward in the development of Argentina LNG,” he said. In his telling, the arrival of Eni and XRG strengthens the project’s value chain.
What XRG is building
For XRG, Argentina fits a pattern. The company wants a resilient, globally scaled gas platform spanning gas, LNG and chemicals, and it already holds interests in Rio Grande LNG in the United States, the Absheron offshore gas and condensate field in Azerbaijan, Offshore Block 1 in Turkmenistan and Area 4 in Mozambique’s Rovuma basin. That last holding includes the planned Coral North FLNG and Rovuma LNG onshore projects.
Behind it all sits ADNOC. The Abu Dhabi group created XRG in late 2024 to lead the United Arab Emirates into natural gas, low-carbon energy and chemicals, and XRG has publicly set a goal of 20 to 25 MMtpa of integrated gas and LNG capacity by 2035, a top-five position.
Next come the approvals in Argentina.
Sources
- ADNOC's XRG and Eni each acquire 32% stakes in three Argentina Vaca Muerta gas blocks to advance 12 MMtpa LNG project
- ADNOC's XRG to acquire 32 percent stake in upstream assets to supply Argentina LNG project
