Milei Paris Visit: TotalEnergies Plans Nearly US$10 Billion for Argentina Oil and Gas
ECONOMY · ARGENTINA
Key Facts
- —The country Argentina, South America’s second-largest economy, faces a presidential election in 2027. President Javier Milei is courting foreign investors at Argentina Week Paris.
- —What happened On 1 October 2026 TotalEnergies presented projects worth close to US$10 billion, and Milei said he holds a “bazooka” of about US$75 billion (TotalEnergies: Infobae, Ámbito; bazooka: Infobae, El Economista).
- —The numbers Offshore Alberdi up to US$1.5 billion; San Roque shale oil about US$5 billion; Aguada Pichana gas US$4–5 billion over time (Ámbito, 1 Oct 2026).
- —What it means for you More gas output could ease supply at home, and the government says its buffer can absorb pre-election dollar buying. Neither is guaranteed.
- —Still open The projects are plans, not final investment decisions. The ministry has not published an itemised breakdown of the US$75 billion figure.
On his Milei Paris visit, Argentina’s president told investors on 1 October 2026 that his government holds a “bazooka” of about US$75 billion. He said it would shield the economy from turbulence before the 2027 presidential election.
The same morning, French energy group TotalEnergies presented a project portfolio worth close to US$10 billion. Both Milei Paris announcements came at Argentina Week Paris, held at the headquarters of the OECD, the Paris-based club of industrial economies.
What TotalEnergies Announced on the Milei Paris Trip
Chief executive Patrick Pouyanné unveiled the plans after a private meeting with Milei, Infobae and Ámbito reported. The first is an offshore field in Tierra del Fuego, costing up to US$1.5 billion with three to five subsea wells.
Pouyanné and Milei agreed to name it Alberdi, after the 19th-century liberal thinker Juan Bautista Alberdi. In Neuquén province, the company wants to lift gas output at Aguada Pichana from 14 to 16 million cubic metres a day.
Sustaining that level needs steady spending of US$4–5 billion, according to Sergio Mengoni, head of local unit Total Austral, quoted by Ámbito. A third project, shale oil at San Roque, carries potential investment of about US$5 billion.
San Roque depends on talks with Neuquén governor Rolando Figueroa over extending the block. It would apply to the RIGI, the Large Investment Incentive Regime, and must file before July 2027, Ámbito reported.
Why the Company Says Now
Pouyanné named two changes as decisive: freedom to send dividends abroad and the tax and currency benefits of the RIGI. He said he raised both with Milei at their first meeting in Buenos Aires in 2024.
TotalEnergies says it produces almost 25 percent of the natural gas sold on Argentina’s domestic market. It has invested almost US$6 billion in the country over the past decade, Pouyanné said.
Milei Paris Claim: What the US$75 Billion Bazooka Is
In his Milei Paris speech, the president said Argentina is “well armed” against what he called destabilising and coup attempts, Infobae reported. The figure is not new cash but an estimate of firepower the government says it could deploy.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo described it on 30 September as a reserves “bazooka” of potential resources, El Economista reported. The ministry has not published a line-by-line breakdown of the total.
Caputo’s stress case sees savers buying an extra US$5.24 billion and importers paying US$1.85 billion early before the vote. He expects US$9 billion of extra supply from RIGI projects and a stronger trade balance.
The Counterweight: Sceptical Economists
Private estimates are far higher, El Economista reported. Economist Fernando Marull puts the floor for 2027 dollar demand at US$30 billion; Carlos Melconian puts it at US$35 billion.
Consultancy EcoGo argues the central bank’s net reserve gain is just over US$8 billion after sales to the Treasury. It also estimates only US$8 billion of the Chinese currency swap is freely usable.
Caputo told the Paris audience that US$56 billion of projects are already approved under the RIGI, Infobae reported. Another US$150 billion await approval, he said. The governors’ side of the trip is covered in our report Argentina Week Paris Summit: Milei Team Meets 12 Governors on 2027 Budget.
The Paris week follows an earlier investor week in New York, described in Investment-Grade Talk and a US$7 Billion Energy Package: What Argentina’s New York Week Means for Expats.
What Is Not Yet Known
TotalEnergies has given no timetable for final investment decisions on Alberdi, Aguada Pichana or San Roque. The San Roque plan still needs a provincial agreement and RIGI approval.
It is also unclear which reserves, credit lines and swaps make up the US$75 billion. Whether that buffer would hold against private demand estimates of US$30–35 billion will only be tested in 2027.
Sources: Infobae (TotalEnergies, 1 Oct 2026); Ámbito (1 Oct 2026); Infobae (Milei speech, 1 Oct 2026); Infobae (Caputo, 1 Oct 2026); El Economista (30 Sep 2026).
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