Mendoza launches exploration campaign in Vaca Muerta with significant investment commitment
Mendoza awarded nine exploration areas in conventional oil since the beginning of Governor Alfredo Cornejo's second term (2023-2027), compared to a single concession granted in the 2019 bidding round. Investment commitments for these new areas exceed 80 million dollars, while total committed investment in hydrocarbons reaches one billion dollars.
Cornejo presented these achievements at the Energy Summit held in Mendoza, where he highlighted that the province has solidified its transformation into an energy province. "Some years ago we discussed whether we wanted to be an energy province. Today we can say that we already are an energy province," he stated.
Operators and restructuring following YPF's exit
The provincial administration negotiated with YPF the company's withdrawal from mature fields under the Andes plan, where YPF was not investing nor had interest in continuing operations. Cornejo acknowledged that this change of operators entailed a "very high political cost," but it enabled the optimization of resources and attracted new investments. Companies that took over these fields have committed investments totaling more than 950 million dollars.
Among recent announcements is the expansion of the Malarwe-Abenoil cluster with committed investment of 150 million dollars through 2037, which includes drilling of new wells, reactivation of idle wells, and enhanced recovery technology. Additionally, two new exploration permits were published in the official gazette for Petroquímica Comodoro Rivadavia in the Atuel Exploración Sur and Río Atuel areas.
Vaca Muerta: pilot campaign in October
Mendoza holds 30% of the Vaca Muerta formation within its territory. Beginning in October, a drilling campaign with five wells will commence: three operated by YPF and two in Cañadón Amarillo operated by PSB Quintana. This latter investment amounts to 44 million dollars in the first three years, with contingent investment of up to 1,350 million dollars if the pilot validates results.
The province characterized more than 850 square kilometers in Vaca Muerta through its own studies. The operating JV advanced to 2026 the wells originally scheduled for 2027, as confirmed by Cornejo.
New hydrocarbons law
Energy and Environment Minister Jimena La Torre presented to the Provincial Legislature a reform bill to Law 75-26, which dates back nearly 20 years. The new framework updates regulations for a province that simultaneously produces, explores, and develops conventional and unconventional oil.
Among the innovations are a new royalties and incentives scheme that rewards investment and reserve development, strengthened environmental requirements, and coexistence rules between hydrocarbon projects and mining operations. Cornejo emphasized that the law seeks to provide long-term legal certainty: "No one signs these contracts without rules that sustain them over time with laws that have broad consensus."
Exploration scale
Under a continuous bidding model, Mendoza auctioned more than one thousand square kilometers of surface for new exploration, with drilling commitments from bidders. Cornejo highlighted that this scale is unusual in Argentina, where "hardly anyone explores in conventional," and attributed the result to sustained public policy beyond fluctuations in prices or technology.
Fiscal policy and solar energy
The governor clarified that Mendoza reduced royalties in specific contracts through extensions, giving them a variable character in the new law. Additionally, it eliminated stamp taxes and gross income taxes on solar energy, with results that made the province first in megawatts of solar energy in Argentina, with the distinction that all projects are privately developed.
Cornejo closed his presentation by underscoring that the provincial State "fulfilled its responsibility with vision of statesmen and not short-term perspectives," and now called on the private sector to honor contracts and invest with new technologies in conventional and unconventional operations to consolidate Mendoza as a major regional energy hub.