Two Workers Killed in YPF Vaca Muerta Accident at Rincón del Mangrullo

Argentina · ENERGY

A failure in a high-pressure gas line triggered a severe decompression at a separation plant near Añelo, killing two workers in Argentina’s flagship shale play.

Two workers died on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, after a severe decompression at a gas separation plant in the Rincón del Mangrullo block, operated by state-controlled energy company YPF in the Vaca Muerta shale formation of Neuquén province, the company and Argentine media confirmed. The YPF Vaca Muerta accident prompted a large-scale emergency response and put contractor safety in the fast-growing basin under renewed scrutiny.

What happened at Rincón del Mangrullo

The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the Rincón del Mangrullo block, a gas-producing area near the town of Añelo in Neuquén province, at the heart of the Vaca Muerta shale formation. Initial reports from the scene suggested an explosion, but the cause was later clarified as a strong decompression inside a gas separation plant, apparently triggered by a failure in a high-pressure gas line, according to Neuquén-based outlet LM Neuquén. The outlet later reported that a 12-inch pipe had burst at the USP 2 primary separation unit in the block’s northern sector, hurling a metal fragment that struck one of the workers.

Emergency crews, medical personnel and police were dispatched to the site in a large-scale operation that included an airlift of the injured man, local media reported. One worker died at the scene and the second, gravely injured, was flown for urgent medical treatment; hours later, outlets including Noticias Argentinas and TN confirmed the second victim had also died. Both men were working as supervisors at the facility, according to LM Neuquén, which later identified them as Jonathan Meliqueo and Cristian Latorre. It was not immediately confirmed whether the blast wave had injured other workers at the site.

YPF Vaca Muerta accident: company activates emergency protocols

YPF confirmed the fatalities in statements carried by Argentine media. The company said it immediately deployed its emergency teams and activated the corresponding protocols, adding that, regrettably, one employee of the company died and another was transferred by air to receive urgent medical attention. Hours later, the company confirmed the second death: YPF regrets to report the death of the second employee, in circumstances that are being investigated, a spokesperson said, adding that the company had made itself available to the families of both workers.

YPF said the incident was already under control and that the company would update the situation as additional information became available. It did not immediately name the victims or detail the condition of the high-pressure gas line involved, and no official investigation had been formally announced at the time of publication.

Provincial authorities in Neuquén, which oversee oil and gas operations in the province, had not issued a detailed statement on the causes by Wednesday afternoon. Under Argentine practice, workplace fatalities typically trigger parallel reviews by labor inspectors and, where hydrocarbon facilities are involved, by provincial energy regulators, in addition to the company’s own internal inquiry.

Union response and the victims

The Sindicato de Petroleros Privados de Río Negro, Neuquén y La Pampa, the main private oil workers’ union in the region, clarified that the victims were not workers covered by its collective bargaining agreement. Even so, the union said it deployed its team and health network to respond to the emergency. According to LM Neuquén, union representatives also said the two men had tried to operate something that did not correspond to them, without elaborating.

The union said it regretted the accident and was accompanying the families of the victims, according to statements carried by Noticias Argentinas and LM Neuquén. Labor and energy authorities in Neuquén are expected to review the circumstances of the YPF Vaca Muerta accident, which comes amid a rapid expansion of activity in the basin and growing scrutiny of contractor safety practices.

What is a decompression event?

Gas separation plants receive raw production from wells under high pressure and split it into gas, liquids and water for processing and transport. The pipes, valves and vessels involved operate at pressures far above atmospheric levels, and the gas inside them stores large amounts of energy.

A decompression event is the rapid, uncontrolled release of that pressure. When a high-pressure line or vessel fails, the stored energy is discharged almost instantly, generating a blast wave and hurling fragments that can be lethal to anyone nearby, even when no fire or explosion follows. That distinguishes it from a slower leak: it is the speed of the pressure release at Rincón del Mangrullo that made the YPF Vaca Muerta accident so destructive.

Safety questions shadow Argentina’s shale boom

The YPF Vaca Muerta accident came barely two weeks after another scare in the basin. On 10 August, an explosion caused by a chemical reaction at Chevron’s battery 1 in the El Trapial area injured three workers, with fragments reportedly flying more than 1,000 meters, according to LM Neuquén. One worker was rushed to a clinic in Rincón de los Sauces and two others were treated for light injuries; Chevron said the three, employed by contractor QSB, had been cleaning a pipeline and were later discharged from hospital.

Rincón del Mangrullo is operated by YPF in a 50/50 joint venture with Pampa Energía in place since 2013, covering 183 square kilometers in central-eastern Neuquén, according to Pampa Energía’s investor relations materials. Vaca Muerta as a whole holds the world’s second-largest shale gas reserves and fourth-largest shale oil reserves, and the formation is central to Argentina’s ambitions to become a significant energy exporter.

YPF, which is majority state-owned, is the largest producer in Vaca Muerta and has staked its corporate strategy on the formation, shifting investment away from mature conventional fields toward shale oil and gas under chief executive Horacio Marín. The company has highlighted cost reductions and record drilling productivity in recent quarters, but the YPF Vaca Muerta accident put a spotlight on the human risks behind the basin’s rapid build-out, where activity has surged as Argentina seeks to supply its domestic market and ramp up exports to Chile and Brazil.

The accident struck on the same day President Javier Milei was set to meet ruling-party legislators in Buenos Aires to organize the government’s economic agenda in Congress, a day after defending his economic course before his cabinet, local media reported. Both chambers of Congress had sessions scheduled this week as the government negotiated with allied blocs to advance its legislative priorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• www.lmneuquen.com
• www.lmneuquen.com
• noticiasargentinas.com
• tn.com.ar
• www.lmneuquen.com
• ri.pampa.com
• canal7salta.com

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error