Argentina’s Vaca Muerta: Growth engine built for the next decade

CALGARY, Alberta (Sep. 1, 2026) - Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, has released a new play fundamentals report that finds Vaca Muerta has the resource depth and well productivity to support more than a decade of continued oil and gas development in Argentina.

New delineation and licensing have expanded the commercially viable inventory identified across Vaca Muerta. The play is now estimated to contain 8.7 Bbbl of sub-$55 WTI oil resource and 109 Tcf of sub-$3 Henry Hub gas resource. Under the development assumptions analyzed in the report, Vaca Muerta has more than 10 years of remaining oil and gas inventory life, providing a substantial runway for continued development. Its remaining inventory, however, still trails that of the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico and the Montney in western Canada.

Well performance reinforces that inventory story. Degradation in oil productivity has stabilized, with wells expected to continue delivering estimated ultimate recoveries (EURs) near 110 bbl/ft for the foreseeable future. Outside the core, oil productivity has remained resilient since 2021 at 98 Mbbl/1,000 ft, 19% below core acreage, although higher costs weigh on economics because of more limited infrastructure and scale. In gas-weighted windows, productivity reaches approximately 2.3 Bcf/1,000 ft, outperforming the North American gas plays benchmarked in the report.

The principal constraint to realizing the play's full growth potential remains market access, particularly for gas, where additional export capacity and LNG development will be required to unlock more of the resource base.

"The Vaca Muerta's growth potential and low-cost competitiveness are a rare combination in today's upstream market. We believe the play will attract increasing attention from investors and operators alike, regardless of commodity-price levels," said EIR director Andy McConn.

Key takeaways:

• EIR estimates Vaca Muerta contains 8.7 Bbbl of sub-$55 WTI oil resource and 109 Tcf of sub-$3 Henry Hub gas resource.
• EIR's inventory analysis indicates more than 10 years of remaining oil and gas development under the report's assumed development scenarios.
• Oil productivity degradation has stabilized, with EIR expecting EURs near 110 bbl/ft for the foreseeable future.
• Oil productivity outside the core has remained resilient at 98 Mbbl/1,000 ft since 2021, while gas-weighted windows produce approximately 2.3 Bcf/1,000 ft.
• Continued growth, particularly for gas, will depend on greater access to export markets.

EIR's analysis pulls from a variety of products including Enverus ONE™.

Play Fundamentals is an EIR research series that dives into a key geographical basin or technology. As a collective series with each play updated annually, it includes technical research and interactive maps, investment opportunities, benchmarking, macro trends and basin analytics, empowering readers to make intelligent connections and, overall, more informed investment, operating and strategic decisions. It is considered the most in-depth research EIR offers and among the most-read analysis series in the energy industry.

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Additional Global Upstream Resource:

• Upcoming Webinar: Vaca Muerta is one of several international regions drawing attention as operators assess where the next phase of upstream growth may emerge. For a broader look at another key area of global opportunity, join Enverus on Sept. 24, 2026, for a webinar examining Africa's growing role in upstream expansion, including where IOC and NOC interest is concentrating, what is driving the latest acreage push and how to distinguish early-stage access from firm exploration commitments. Register for "Africa's Upstream Acreage Rush: Where Operators Are Placing Their Next Bets."

About Enverus Intelligence® Research
Enverus Intelligence ® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts; and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. Enverus is the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS company, with a platform built to create value from generative AI, offering real-time access to analytics, insights and benchmark cost and revenue data sourced from our partnerships to 95% of U.S. energy producers, and more than 40,000 suppliers. Learn more at Enverus.com.