The market for oil and gas upstream in Argentina is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 1.27% during the forecast period of 2020 – 2025. Factors such as increasing natural gas consumption and rising oil and gas production are expected to increase the growth for the Argentina oil and gas market during the forecast period. However, the decreasing consumption of oil is expected to restrain the market

  • Most of the oil and gas basins in the country are onshore fields, which also includes the most significant shale play, Vaca Muerta. However, as the onshore fields are getting matured, the production of the onshore segment may drop in the forecast period.
  • The Government of Argentina is looking to license the production of offshore wells, which may provide an opportunity for the market players in the oil and gas upstream sector.
  • Increasing oil and gas production in the upstream sector is expected to be the most prominent driver of the Argentina oil and gas upstream industry. Increasing investment in the sector is expected to further boost the market in the forecast period.



Key Market Trends

Onshore Segment to Dominate the Market

  • Argentina held an estimated 0.3 trillion cubic meters of proved natural gas reserves at the beginning of 2018. Most of the country’s proved gas reserves are held onshore. There has been a general increase in the production of oil and gas from these onshore fields.
  • Vaca Muerta is one of the world’s biggest onshore shale plays, even though, in 2019, less than 10% of the acreage is in production, with the production of natural gas from Vaca Muerta surpassing 1.0 Bcfd in December 2018. In 2020, Equinor and Shell increased their shares in the shale play to a combined 49%, which was previously held by Schlumberger.
  • There has been an increase in natural gas production by 6.1%, increasing to 33.9 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2018 from 31.9 Mtoe in 2017. The natural gas consumption in the country increased, by 0.8%, to 41.9 million tonnes, in 2018 from 41.5 million tonnes in 2017. An increase in the consumption and production of natural gas is expected to aid the growth of the market.
  • Hence, the onshore segment is expected to witness growth owing to investments being made in the onshore shale and conventional oil and gas fields of the country.



Increasing Oil and Gas Production to Drive the Market

  • There has been an increase in oil production, by 1.1%, to 27.6 million tons (MT) in 2018 from 27.3 MT in 2017. The country’s oil consumption decreased by 6.3%, to 29.8 million tonnes, in 2018 from 31.8 million tonnes in 2017. Oil production is expected to increase further as more exploration and production initiatives are being considered and taken up by the market players.
  • In 2019, the first offshore licensing round took place in Argentina after more than 20 years. Large multinational corporations took part in the bidding process, with Equinor acquiring seven blocks in the process. Such initiatives are expected to increase the production of oil and gas from the offshore segment.
  • Even though the traditional fields have been reducing their production of hydrocarbons, the growth in Argentina’s shale and tight gas production has partially offset declines in its natural gas production from traditional fields. Shale and tight gas production are expected to further increase in the forecast period.
  • The Argentina oil and gas industry is expected to grow slightly in the forecast period due to the increase in oil and gas production and rising investment in the oil and gas sector of the country.



Competitive Landscape

The Argentina oil and gas upstream market is moderately consolidated. The major companies include Equinor ASA, Chevron Argentina S.R.L., ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina S.R.L, YPF S.A., and Tullow Oil plc

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