Pluspetrol Takes 20% of Two Vaca Muerta Blocks
ARGENTINA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The move Pluspetrol has entered two Vaca Muerta blocks held by the Neuquén provincial company.
- —The blocks La Escalonada, 239 square kilometres, and Rincón La Ceniza, 220.77 square kilometres.
- —The new split Shell Argentina 45% and operator, Vaca Muerta Inversiones 25%, Pluspetrol 20%, Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén 10%.
- —How Pluspetrol took its 20% from part of Vaca Muerta Inversiones’ holding. Neither the province nor Shell exercised pre-emption.
- —The payment US$13.92 million to the province. This is a transfer payment, not a drilling commitment.
- —What it is not Distinct from the YPF–Pluspetrol asset swap that closed in January 2026.
A twenty percent stake bought from a partner rather than won at auction is the quiet way into Vaca Muerta, and it is becoming the usual one.
Pluspetrol has entered two Vaca Muerta blocks operated under concessions held by the Neuquén provincial energy company, taking a 20% interest in La Escalonada and Rincón La Ceniza through a transfer from an existing partner.
The Blocks and the Split
La Escalonada covers 239 square kilometres and Rincón La Ceniza 220.77 square kilometres. Both are areas held by Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén, the province’s own energy company.
After the transaction the equity stands at Shell Argentina 45% as operator, Vaca Muerta Inversiones S.A. 25%, Pluspetrol 20% and the provincial company 10%.
Pluspetrol acquired its position from part of Vaca Muerta Inversiones’ stake. Neither the province nor Shell exercised a right of first refusal, which is how a transfer of this kind clears.
The Payment, and What It Is Not
The province receives US$13.92 million. That is a transfer and consent payment to Neuquén, not a figure for what Pluspetrol will spend developing the acreage.
No drilling commitment has been published, and The Rio Times does not describe the US$13.92 million as investment. The two are routinely conflated in coverage of Argentine hydrocarbon transfers and they measure different things.
The transaction was approved by provincial executive decree under Neuquén’s Law 2453, and reported between 11 and 13 September 2026.
Why Companies Buy In Rather Than Bid
Vaca Muerta’s most productive acreage was awarded years ago, and the way to add exposure now is to buy into an existing concession from a partner that wants to rebalance.
That route also transfers the operating history with the position. A company entering a block that Shell already operates acquires the well results and the completion designs alongside the equity, which removes most of the geological risk that a new area carries.
The cost is control. A twenty percent non-operating stake means Pluspetrol pays its share of a programme designed by someone else.
The Separate YPF Swap
Pluspetrol closed an asset swap with YPF on 23 January 2026. That was a different transaction, and it cleared the way for Eni and ADNOC to enter Vaca Muerta as part of the Argentina LNG project.
YPF projected roughly 20% additional gas output over 24 months from that swap. Reporting that treats the two deals as one overstates what happened this week.
What It Signals
Provincial companies across Argentina hold acreage they cannot develop alone, and the pattern of a small state stake alongside an international operator and one or two financial or industrial partners is becoming the standard Vaca Muerta structure.
For Neuquén, a transfer payment plus a retained 10% is a way of monetising acreage without spending. For Pluspetrol, it is exposure to shale gas and oil at a point in the cycle when the infrastructure to export it is finally being built.
Pluspetrol itself is not a new entrant. The company has operated in Argentina since the 1970s and has been rebuilding its domestic position after years in which its growth came from Peru and from conventional fields.
The two blocks sit in the western part of the formation, where the shale is gassier than in the oil window further east. That composition determines which export infrastructure matters to the partners, and it points at liquefied natural gas rather than at the crude pipelines now being expanded.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which blocks did Pluspetrol enter?
La Escalonada and Rincón La Ceniza, both held by Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén.
What stake did it take?
20%, transferred from part of Vaca Muerta Inversiones’ holding.
Who operates the blocks?
Shell Argentina, with 45%.
What was paid?
US$13.92 million to the province, as a transfer payment rather than a drilling commitment.
Is this the YPF swap?
No. That was a separate transaction that closed on 23 January 2026.
Sources: LM Neuquén, Infobae, EconoJournal.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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