Argentina wants to take its shale expertise to new oil frontier

The leading producer in Argentina's acclaimed Vaca Muerta shale patch, managed by state-run YPF SA, is studying a new rock formation replete with unconventional oil and gas.

The Palermo Aike fields in Santa Cruz Province in southern Patagonia could increase the country's shale reserves by about a third, Economy Minister Sergio Massa told a room of investors and analysts at the New York Stock Exchange.

Argentina is just beginning to feel the benefits of a decade of drilling in Vaca Muerta as pipeline construction unlocks production. Vaca Muerta's geology rivals the Permian Basin in west Texas, but Argentina's lack of infrastructure and economic woes have slowed development.

YPF chief executive Pablo Iuliano said YPF would drill one or two exploratory wells this year at Palermo Aike as it analyses opportunities with potential partners.