Sea Lion Gathers 232 Million Barrels and Surpasses Several Vaca Muerta Areas

The Sea Lion oil field, located approximately 220 kilometers north of the Falkland Islands, contains 232 million barrels of proven reserves. The volume represents 12.7% of the proven reserves estimated for Vaca Muerta, which reach 1,825 million barrels.

The comparison changes when looking at individual areas of the Neuquén formation. In proven reserves, only Loma Campana-LLL surpasses Sea Lion, with 317 million barrels. La Amarga Chica registers 224 million, while Bajada del Palo Este, Cruz de Lorena, Sierras Blancas, and Loma Campana have lower volumes.

In discovered resources, which include reserves and contingent resources, Sea Lion totals 1,017 million barrels. That figure exceeds each of the Neuquén fields considered in the survey: Loma Campana-LLL has 582 million, La Amarga Chica 505 million, Bajada del Palo Este 214 million, Cruz de Lorena 112 million, Sierras Blancas 73 million, and Loma Campana 60 million.

When incorporating prospective resources, Vaca Muerta reaches 30,172 million barrels compared to 2,811 million calculated for Sea Lion. The offshore project concentrates a higher proportion of contingent resources because it is still in an earlier stage of development.

Rockhopper announced the discovery of oil at Sea Lion in 2010. Navitas entered the project in 2020 and increased its stake to 65%, while Rockhopper retains 35%. In December 2025, both companies communicated the final investment decision for the first two phases of the Northern Development Area.

The plan contemplates more than 60 subsea wells, a floating production, storage and offloading unit, and total investment of USD 3.9 billion. First production is scheduled for March 2028, with the vessel Aoka Mizu as the initial FPSO. The unit, owned by Bluewater Energy Services, will be adapted in Singapore before being transferred to the area.