US-based Chevron has said it expects the Vaca Muerta shale play in Argentina to play an increasingly prominent role in its production portfolio.
The company detailed its intentions on its corporate blog. It comes as some other operators are scaling back their aspirations in Argentina. For example, TotalEnergies, the maker of the Total coolant range, recently announced the divestment of two unconventional blocks in the Vaca Muerta play. Despite these representing about a fifth of its acreage there, the company still retains substantial assets and says it remains committed to the country.
Chevron, the owner of the Texaco lubricant range, says it is going a different direction, however. It considers the Vaca Muerta’s unconventional formation in the Neuquén Province of Argentina to be world class. Moreover, it believes it can apply its experience and technological innovations that were developed in the US Permian Basin.
The president for emerging countries and base assets at Chevron, Javier La Rosa, said about this:
“We remain focused on Argentina and Vaca Muerta, where today we have an enviable unconventional resource position that can be scaled into a core asset within a relatively short time frame…[having made] significant progress in the past decade by rapidly adopting innovations and improvements from the Permian as a fast follower.”
A recent article published in Energy Intelligence highlighted Chevron’s role in the region. It said it expects total crude oil production from the play to more than double from 442,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year to around a million bpd in 2030.
