Norway’s Equinor has signed an agreement with Mexican company Vista Energy to divest its entire onshore position in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta basin (Equinor press release, 02/02/2026).
- The transaction covers Equinor’s 30% non-operated interest in the Bandurria Sur asset and its 50% non-operated interest in the Bajo del Toro asset. Equinor’s offshore acreage in Argentina is not affected by the deal.
- Equinor’s share of production from Bandurria Sur averaged 24.4 k boe/d in Q3 2025, while Bajo del Toro, which remains at an early stage of development, contributed 2.1 kboe/day.
- According to Equinor, the total consideration is valued at around US$1.1bn and includes contingent payments linked to oil prices and production over a five-year period.
Equinor has been present in Argentina since 2017, when it entered the Vaca Muerta formation through a joint exploration agreement with YPF on the Bajo del Toro asset. The company expanded its onshore portfolio in 2020 with the acquisition of Bandurria Sur. In 2019, Equinor also added eight offshore exploration licences in the North Argentinian Basin and the southern Austral and Malvinas basins. Subsurface evaluations are ongoing to determine the most commercially attractive development pathway for the offshore portfolio.
The Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas formation is the main driver of Argentina’s hydrocarbon production growth. The country plans significant investments in shale oil exploration and production. Recoverable oil resources in the Vaca Muerta formation are estimated at approximately 23 Gbl (Enerdata Global Energy Research).