Report: Argentina set for century-high oil output, record gas production

Argentina’s hydrocarbons production could be heading for a record year, according to a new report.

A study by the Bolsa de Comercio de Rosario (Rosario Board of Trade, BCR) forecast that the country is on track to record its highest oil production level of the century to date, as well as record gas production in 2025

The BCR report highlighted the boost in “unconventional oil and gas production” provided by the Neuquén basin, in particular shale-rich Vaca Muerta, this year. It noted that “national gas and oil production grew by four percent and 11 percent respectively when comparing January to July this year with the same period in 2024.”

So far in 2025, “60 percent of the oil extracted in Argentina has been unconventional oil,” compared with less than 25 percent in 2020 and under five percent in 2015, said the BCR.

Given this backdrop, the report projected that oil production in Argentina in 2025 would be “the highest of the century, a peak since 1998 and the third-highest ever recorded.”

Gas production could reach “the highest” level in recorded history, it stated.

The study says output growth has been supported by the completion of energy transport infrastructure works, which has expanded shipment capacity and opened up production to new markets.

Looking at the regional context, the report highlighted growth opportunities in the wake of a “marked decline in Bolivian gas production.” This, said the BCR, “opens up markets and opportunities for Argentina to further increase energy exports to the region in the medium term.”

It also noted the potential impact of the Vaca Muerta Sur Oil Pipeline (VMOS), which will boost oil export capacity via the South Atlantic.

Drilling into the figures, the report highlighted that “the gap between energy exports and imports is already the largest of the century,” recalling that “as the Energy Secretariat reported, Argentina’s energy balance posted its biggest surplus in 35 years.”

Energy exports rose by around 11 percent in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year, while energy imports fell by more than 23 percent year-on-year. Gas imports alone dropped “46 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025,” said the BCR.

– TIMES/NA