Continental Resources Eyes More Argentine Shale Acreage
Continental Resources is expanding its operations in Argentina's Vaca Muerta play, where it has already expressed interest and acquired stakes in four blocks. The Oklahoma City-based company, led by Harold Hamm, will participate in this year's bid round for acreage in the province of Neuquén, which has launched its largest licensing round in a decade. The auction offers 15 blocks up for grabs, more than double the number from the previous auction.
Hamm reached out to Argentinian leader Javier Milei last year to take advantage of tax cuts and benefits for investors in the popular shale play. Record Vaca Muerta output has failed to lift Argentina's wider economy, but the play continues to break production records, becoming the leading shale basin outside the US.
Vaca Muerta crude oil output hit an all-time high of 887,227 barrels per day in May, up 19% from a year earlier. Natural gas output also rose to 5.5 billion cubic feet per day, just shy of the record 5.7 billion cubic feet daily reported for July 2025.
The average monthly salary in the oil and gas sector in Neuquén is about $5,600, three times higher than the average $1,800 salary in Buenos Aires. Economist Guido Zack noted that 'Today we have two Argentinas, one Argentina that grows and another that falls.'