Hydrocarbon production in Argentina began in 1922 with the creation of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (in Spanish, YPF), the world’s first state-owned oil company. 

More than a 100 years later, the country’s energy sector is primed to enter its best era ever.

“Fifteen years ago, Argentina was a country with oil, and there was not even a possibility that Argentina would be an oil-producing country,” Daniel Dreizzen, head of consulting firm Aleph Energy, told the Herald. Vaca Muerta, he added, open up that possibility. 

“Argentina is on its way to becoming an oil-producing country because it is going to export more oil and gas than it consumes itself.”

Although consultants foresee optimistic scenarios for the coming years, they also pointed to a hard ceiling: while the Nequén oil field could certainly make Argentina an important regional actor in the energy sector, it’s not enough to turn the country into a global heavyweight.  

How did Argentina get here

Argentina’s energy trade balance went from a US$4.3 billion deficit in 2022 to a US$5.6 billion surplus in 2024, the first energy surplus since 2011. 

The country is registering record energy exports. Between January and August 2026, the sector accumulated a US$7.8 billion surplus, higher than what was recorded during all of 2025, according to figures from statistics bureau INDEC.

“This is the best moment in Argentina’s oil and gas 100-plus-year history,” said energy consultant Daniel Gerold.

Economía & Energía consulting firm head Nicolás Arceo highlighted that Argentina currently has the “highest production level in its history.” 

“It broke the production records of the........

© Buenos Aires Herald