Abu Dhabi’s XRG, the international investment arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Italy’s Eni S.p.A.(NYSE:E) have officially signed agreements to acquire minority stakes in three upstream gas blocks linked to the Argentina LNG export project. The transaction involves the Meseta Buena Esperanza, Aguada Villanueva and Las Tacanas unconventional gas blocks located in Argentina’s prolific Vaca Muerta shale basin. Under the newly signed Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs), XRG and Eni will each own a 32% stake, while Argentina's state energy company YPF will retain a 36% stake with a Final Investment Decision (FID) slated for the second half of 2026.
The gas extracted from the three blocks is expected to supply the planned Argentina LNG project, a massive midstream-upstream initiative with a target capacity of 12 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG designed to establish the country as a major global fuel exporter. The setup will feature two floating LNG (FLNG) units located in the Patagonian province of Río Negro, each with a capacity of 6 mtpa.
For Eni and XRG, the venture secures long-term equity access to one of the world’s largest unconventional gas resources, expanding their highly diversified global gas portfolios.
On the other hand, the project is a critical macroeconomic milestone for the Argentine government aimed at bolstering the country's U.S. dollar reserves through energy exports.
President Javier Milei's government is advancing a transformative $30 billion energy export strategy focused on the Vaca Muerta shale basin to bolster the country's central bank U.S. dollar reserves. Key projects under this initiative include the Vaca Muerta Sur (VMOS) Pipeline, a $2.6-billion crude oil project that will carry Neuquén basin crude to a new export terminal at Punta Colorada in Río Negro province as well as the Southern Energy (SESA) Project. SESA is a consortium of energy firms deploying floating LNG facilities that aims to unlock approximately $2.5 billion in annual foreign exchange earnings. The Vaca Muerta drive also involves Milei’s flagship Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones (RIGI), which provides 30-year tax breaks, customs relief, and deregulated export rules to accelerate long-term energy infrastructure development.
Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
