Promoted by the sustained growth of Muerta Vacathe Argentine oil sector registered between January and March 2025 the highest production volume for a first quarter since 2009, the oldest data with the current measurement method.
According to official data from the Ministry of Energythe extraction of oil reached in that period the 10,684,722 m3 and exceeded 9.8% the record of the first three months of last year. Behind the rebound is the thrust of the shale oil in Neuquénwhich represented 60% of the country’s total production.
The development of unconventional training continues to consolidate as the engine of the energy sector. Only in March, oil production in the province of Neuquén It grew by 20.7% compared to the same month of the previous year, with a volume of 2,258,737 m3, a new record for the third month of the year. Companies like YPF, Vista, Shell and Pae They led operations with investments sustained in high -productivity wells.
The growth of crude oil in Vaca Muerta not only promoted the total volumes, but also allowed to compensate for the natural decline of other mature basins, such as that of San Jorge Gulf. In fact, in several of them the production remains stable or in a slight decline, which reinforces the strategic role of the neuquino site in the national balance.
While Vaca Muerta breaks all records, most oil provinces suffer from maintaining their production and see how mature wells lose pressure. The differences are huge. Neuquén He closed the first quarter with a record of historical production. For the first time it closed the first three months of the year with a production level of more than 6 million m3 and achieved an improvement of 20.87%.
In that same period, other oil provinces had a bad performance. This is the case of Chubutthe second in importance after Neuquén. The statistics of the Nation’s Ministry of Energy point out that this province registered a 5.58% drop in the first quarter and reached the lowest point of its production of the last fifteen years.
Similar is the case of Santa Cruz. According to the official numbers, the oil companies operating in the province extracted 928,104 m3 in the first quarter, 6.71% as in the same period of 2024. Like the Chubut case, the retraction led the sector to its worst time in fifteen years.
The situation for Mendoza It is almost traced. From January to March, only 770,606 m3 were produced in the province. It meant a lighter drop than in the other provinces (-2.42%), but it also took it to the lowest level from 2009. until 2019, Mendoza produced more than 1 million m3 quarterly, the scene that was already far behind. Since then, the oil productive decrease was 23.33 percent.
From Chubut, Santa Cruz and Mendoza could differentiate Black Riverwhich according to official statistics achieved a recovery of 9.67% in its interannual crude oil in the first quarter, although its participation in the total is minimal (2.90%). In addition, it is still far from the numbers of a decade ago. In detail, in the January-March period he reached 310,311 m3 and ten years ago he widely exceeded 500,000 m3 in those same months.
The disparity between regions marks the rhythm of a complex transition. While Vaca Muerta consolidates its leadership with investments and technology, the rest of the oil map is increasingly lagging behind.
