The oil company YPF announced that it will invest $5 billion this year, of which $3 billion will focus on the Vaca Muerta unconventional hydrocarbon formation.
The investment is part of the four-year strategic plan presented to investors by the company's president and CEO, Horacio Marín.
The new strategy, called the '4x4 plan,' aims to transform YPF into a company focused on "world-class" unconventional hydrocarbons and aims to set records in oil and gas production in Argentina to become a major exporter by 2030, the company reported in a statement.
One of the pillars of the plan is to accelerate oil production in Vaca Muerta, the world's second-largest reserve of unconventional gas and the fourth for this type of oil.
The goal in Vaca Muerta is to increase oil production from 97,000 barrels per day in 2023 to 250,000 barrels per day in 2027.
If achieved, within four years, 80% of the company's total oil production will be unconventional.
The second pillar of the plan is "financial discipline in investment management," which means that YPF will prioritize investments with higher returns.
In this context, the company plans to divest from its operations in about 50 conventional blocks in mature fields, which currently represent 60% of its conventional oil production and 40% of its conventional gas production.
In this way, YPF seeks to "significantly" improve its operating costs, which are higher in mature conventional areas, and redirect around $800 million of investments to the development of Vaca Muerta.
Another pillar will be "maximizing operational efficiencies in businesses," improving drilling and well fracturing efficiency by 10% to 15% over the next two years, increasing refinery processing levels by 10%, and reducing operating costs to improve business margins by up to $3 per barrel by 2027.
The fourth pillar of the plan is the construction of the first liquefaction plant in Argentina to export liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In September 2022, YPF and Malaysian Petronas signed an agreement to invest $10 billion in the first stage to build a gas liquefaction plant extracted from Vaca Muerta. The idea now is to add other partners to this project.
According to YPF, the LNG project will allow Argentina to export approximately $15 billion worth of gas annually starting in 2032.
Argentina's largest oil company reported on Wednesday to the markets a net loss in 2023 of $1.277 billion (€1.174.8 million), compared to a profit in 2022 of $2.234 billion.
Its investments amounted to $5.684 billion last year, 36% more than in 2022.
