Pluspetrol
announced on social media that it has quadrupled oil production at
the Bajo del Choique – La Invernada block to 20,000 barrels per day
in under twelve months, demonstrating the latent potential in
assets acquired from ExxonMobil's Vaca Muerta exit and highlighting
significant value left on the table by the US major.
The
Argentine company acquired the block in late 2024, inheriting
existing infrastructure but minimal well development from
ExxonMobil, which had maintained extraction levels well below the
area's capacity. Located in northern Vaca Muerta near Rincón de los
Sauces, the block offers productivity levels potentially exceeding
the formation's more developed central areas near Añelo.
'This
milestone is the first production leap we set as a target when we
received the assets at the end of 2024, and we not only met it, but
we surpassed it,' Pluspetrol stated in a post on X.
The
company is targeting 60,000 bpd at Bajo del Choique by 2027, which
would establish it among Vaca Muerta's most productive blocks.
Combined with La Calera, Pluspetrol's first major unconventional
position in the basin, the company projects reaching 140,000 bpd
across both assets next year.
The rapid
production ramp demonstrates how major international oil companies'
conservative development strategies in Argentina have created
opportunities for domestic operators willing to accelerate
investment, particularly as the Milei administration works to
attract energy sector capital through regulatory stability
measures.
© 2025 bne IntelliNews, source Magazine
