Argentina Mining Output Rises 8.4% on Shale Oil Surge

ARGENTINA · ENERGY

Shale oil from the Vaca Muerta formation lifted Argentina’s mining index to its highest level since the series began in 2017.

Argentina mining output rose 8.4% in August from a year earlier, driven almost entirely by shale oil from the Vaca Muerta formation. The national statistics office, INDEC, published the figures on Thursday, 8 October.

The result matters to US investors because New York-listed YPF and Vista Energy, as well as Chevron, pump oil in Vaca Muerta. Crude oil alone added 7.5 of the 8.4 percentage points of growth, according to INDEC.

Seasonally adjusted output rose 1.9% from July, partly reversing a 3.6% drop the month before. From January to August, the mining index was 7.9% higher than in the same period of 2025.

The unadjusted index reached 149.6 points against a 2016 base of 100, the highest in a series that began in January 2017. In July, year-on-year growth had slowed to 3.9%.

Shale Oil Supplied Almost All of the Growth

Argentina produced 4.61 million cubic metres of crude oil in August, 14.4% more than a year earlier. Converted at 6.29 barrels per cubic metre, that is roughly 935,000 barrels a day.

That equals about four-fifths of North Dakota’s July output of 1.16 million barrels a day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Total US production was 13.9 million barrels a day.

Unconventional crude, extracted from shale rock by hydraulic fracturing, rose 26.9% to 3.28 million cubic metres. It now makes up about 71% of Argentina’s oil output.

Conventional crude from older fields fell 8.0% to 1.33 million cubic metres. August’s total oil volume was the largest monthly figure in INDEC’s series, which starts in 2017.

Santiago Capdevila of the consultancy Empiria told La Nación that oil production “reached a new all-time high.” He said Neuquén now accounts for more than 70% of the country’s oil, with output there up 26%.

Support services for oil and gas extraction rose 4.6% year on year. INDEC’s series shows this is the first annual increase since June 2024, after more than two years of declines.

Gas, Metals and Lithium Tell a Mixed Story

Natural gas output slipped 1.7% to 4.82 billion cubic metres. Conventional gas fell 11.2%, while unconventional gas rose 3.1%.

Metal mining dropped 17.9%, led by a 25.2% fall in silver and gold concentrates. Gold and silver doré bars, a semi-refined product, rose 6.6%.

Non-metallic minerals and quarrying, a group that includes lithium, frac sand and salt, grew 17.8%. Salt extraction jumped 76.2%, the largest gain of any subgroup.

Lithium carbonate output reached 8,582.6 tonnes, up 8.8% on August 2025 and 39.8% higher so far this year. Lithium is a key input for electric-vehicle batteries.

Mining Outpaces a Shrinking Factory Sector

The mining gain contrasts sharply with Argentina’s factories. INDEC reported on Wednesday, 7 October, that manufacturing output fell 3.2% year on year in August.

Manufacturing was 2.7% lower from January to August. The two releases show growth concentrated in oil and mining while factory activity contracts.

What It Means for You

YPF, the Argentine oil company that operates Loma Campana in Vaca Muerta, has American depositary receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. It presents third-quarter results on 29 October.

Vista Energy’s shares trade in New York under the ticker VIST. The company reported second-quarter 2026 output of 156,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Chevron holds a 50% stake in Loma Campana, a Vaca Muerta block operated by YPF. Chevron says the block produces about 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Argentina’s incentive regime for large investments, known as RIGI, offers benefits and legal certainty to big energy, mining and oil projects. It was created by Law 27,742.

For oil markets, rising Argentine output adds supply from outside the OPEC+ producer group. Weaker gas and metals output shows the boom remains narrow.

What Is Not Known

INDEC does not publish output by field or company, so Vaca Muerta’s exact share of the gain is not measured. La Nación noted the same gap.

The release does not explain why metal mining fell. It is also unclear whether lithium growth will hold, after carbonate output eased from 11,987 tonnes in June.

What Comes Next

INDEC will publish September mining data on Friday, 6 November, at 4 p.m. Buenos Aires time. YPF’s results webcast follows on Thursday, 29 October, at 9 a.m. ET.

The August figure does not mean all of Argentine mining is growing. Gas, metals, limestone and clay all produced less than a year earlier.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Vaca Muerta?

Vaca Muerta is a shale rock formation in Argentina’s Neuquén province, developed with hydraulic fracturing. Chevron says it and YPF pioneered Argentine shale at Loma Campana in 2013.

How much oil does Argentina produce?

INDEC data show 4.61 million cubic metres in August, roughly 935,000 barrels a day. About 71% of that was unconventional shale oil.

Which US-listed companies are exposed to Vaca Muerta?

YPF and Vista Energy trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Chevron holds stakes in Vaca Muerta blocks with YPF and operates its own blocks in El Trapial.

What is the RIGI?

RIGI is Argentina’s incentive regime for large investments, created by Law 27,742. It offers benefits and legal certainty to big projects in energy, mining and oil and gas.

When is the next mining data release?

INDEC will publish September figures on Friday, 6 November. Manufacturing data for September comes out the same day.

Sources: INDEC, Índice de producción industrial minero, August 2026; INDEC, IPI minero series 2017–2026; INDEC, IPI manufacturero, August 2026; La Nación; Perfil; US Energy Information Administration; Chevron Argentina; Vista Energy; YPF Investors; Argentina Ministry of Economy, RIGI (all accessed 9 October 2026).