Two stakes of 32% each, one of 36%. That is how ownership of three Vaca Muerta shale gas blocks in Argentina would divide once Eni and XRG, the international investment arm of ADNOC, complete their purchases. YPF, the state-controlled company, stays on as operator with the 36% balance.
Eni signed its sale and purchase agreement on June 29. The blocks are Meseta Buena Esperanza, Aguada Villanueva and Las Tacanas. Neither deal is final: both need sign-off from the relevant authorities in Argentina.
The three-way split traces back to a swap with Pluspetrol earlier in 2026, after which YPF held full ownership of the assets.
Gas for two floating plants
The blocks are meant to feed Argentina LNG, a project the three companies already committed to through a joint development agreement signed earlier this year. It is built around two floating LNG units of 6 MTPA each, for 12 million tons per annum in total. XRG said the same upstream assets would also let it sell the condensates that come out alongside the gas.
Eni’s Guido Brusco, chief operating officer for global natural resources, said the entry into Vaca Muerta “strengthens Eni’s ability to develop world-scale gas resources and convert them into competitive LNG for international markets.” He called the basin one of the richest in the world by resources.
XRG president Mohamed Al Aryani said: “Argentina has the potential to play an increasingly important role in meeting the world’s growing demand for natural gas, and projects such as Argentina LNG will be important to unlocking that opportunity.”
YPF chairman and CEO Horacio Marín described it as “another step forward,” saying the two newcomers in the upstream segment strengthen the project’s value chain and let YPF “move toward its development on a global scale.”
XRG’s bigger target
ADNOC launched XRG in late 2024 to lead the United Arab Emirates into natural gas, low-carbon energy and chemicals. The company has publicly aimed for a top-five integrated gas and LNG business, with 20 to 25 MMtpa of capacity by 2035.
It already holds interests in Rio Grande LNG in the United States, the Absheron field in Azerbaijan, Offshore Block 1 in Turkmenistan and Area 4 in Mozambique’s Rovuma basin. Argentina would add a new region to that list.
Eni described the deal as consistent with plans to strengthen and diversify its upstream gas holdings and expand marketing of its LNG equity volumes.
Sources
- ADNOC's XRG and Eni each acquire 32% stakes in three Argentina Vaca Muerta gas blocks to advance 12 MMtpa LNG project
- Eni enters the upstream of the Argentina LNG integrated project
- XRG and Eni Sign Agreements with YPF for 32% Interest in Argentina's Vaca Muerta Upstream Blocks – News and Statistics – IndexBox
