Overview
- Shell has approached potential buyers to gauge interest in part or all of its Vaca Muerta holdings, though a sale is not assured, according to Reuters.
- The review follows Shell’s December 2025 decision to step back from the initial phase of the Argentina LNG project and its broader portfolio pruning under CEO Wael Sawan.
- YPF and Pluspetrol agreed to swap assets that would transfer Meseta Buena Esperanza, Aguada Villanueva, and Las Tacanas to YPF and give Pluspetrol a 44.44% stake in Vaca Muerta Inversiones, subject to closing conditions.
- The swap is designed to consolidate key, contiguous gas acreage and simplify governance to advance the Argentina LNG plan and attract strategic partners, with reported discussions involving ENI, ADNOC, and MidOcean Energy.
- Sources cited by Reuters say Shell’s Vaca Muerta assets could be worth several billion dollars, while separate reports note JPMorgan has been engaged to organize roughly $14 billion in project financing.