Can you provide an overview of Tecpetrol’s operations in Argentina and Latin America, as well as some of the company’s notable projects?

Tecpetrol is an independent oil company operating throughout Latin America. The company has two main business units: exploration and production (E&P) and gas & power. In E&P, Tecpetrol has operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and south Texas. As for gas & power, Tecpetrol is the investor and operator of various midstream infrastructure projects in the oil and gas industry, including Transportadora de Gas del Norte (TGN), the consortium of Transportadora de Gas del Peru (TGP), and operation and maintenance for Pemex in México. Notably, Tecpetrol has implemented an extensive enhanced oil recovery program in mature fields like El Tordillo (Golfo de San Jorge, Argentina), was the main investor and operator in TGP—the infrastructure project that made Camisea viable—successfully developed the Mision area in the Burgos area in Mexico, and lately had material exploration discoveries in the “llanos” in Colombia.

How has Tecpetrol’s portfolio evolved in the past five years, and what is your strategy for growth in Argentina over the next five years?

Tecpetrol started as an operator of mature assets in the 1990s with a conservative portfolio that the company was operating at the time. By the early 2000s, Tecpetrol started to diversify its risk profile by adding exploration projects to its asset portfolio. In the past five years, the company has seen high growth potential in unconventional exploration and production in Neuquén Province, with a particular focus on Vaca Muerta, where Tecpetrol predicts the most growth domestically. While Argentina currently comprises less than 20% of Tecpetrol’s revenues, increased investment and the resulting production will make it one of the company’s biggest areas of growth in the coming years. Mergers and acquisitions such as the acquisition of some of Petrogas’s assets in Neuquén are also part of Tecpetrol’s growth strategy.

What challenges do you foresee in developing the hydrocarbon potential at Vaca Muerta, and how do you think they can be overcome?

There are three significant challenges in developing hydrocarbon potential at Vaca Muerta. First, Argentina needs a stable financial situation to facilitate the financing of anticipated projects, which require $10 to $15 billion dollars per year. Second, the country needs to improve cost efficiency to attract the investment needed in Argentina, which requires a minimum critical mass of volume and new services. Third, companies need to gain a more precise understanding of the opportunities in Vaca Muerta, including identifying the sweet spots, determining whether these are gas or liquids, and figuring out how best to extract the hydrocarbons. The learning process is costly both in terms of money and time. Overcoming the learning curve will be a great challenge, but collaboration among players in Argentina’s oil and gas markets, including YPF and other investors, will be crucial to addressing these challenges.