Continental Resources Bids Big in Argentina's Vaca Muerta Shale Play

Continental Resources, founded by shale billionaire Harold Hamm, is expanding its presence in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale play. The company will bid on acreage in the upcoming licensing round, which includes 15 blocks up for grabs, more than double the number offered last time.

The province of Neuquén, where most of Vaca Muerta is located, has introduced tax cuts and other benefits to attract investors. Continental doubled down on its shale expansion outside the US in January with an acquisition of stakes in four Vaca Muerta blocks.

Vaca Muerta tops the list of oil and gas companies as a de-risked basin with proven geology far from relying on the Strait of Hormuz or any other corridor in the Middle East to ship barrels out. Analysts at Rystad Energy expect crude production from Vaca Muerta to top 1 million barrels per day by the end of the decade.

The latest production figures showed that crude oil output hit an all-time high of 887,227 barrels per day in May, up by 19% from a year earlier. Argentina is offering international companies their best organic entry point into Vaca Muerta in a decade, according to Jai Singh, Head of US Oil & Gas Research at Rystad Energy.