Last Wednesday, TotalEnergies announced that it had sold its shares to the oil company YPF, in two shale oil and gas concessions for a total amount of 500 million dollars (about 430 million euros).

YPF is majority owned by the Argentine State. In a statement, TotalEnergies specified that the two blocks, located in the Vaca Muerta formation, in the Neuquen basin, are in the “pilot” phase of development. Total currently owns 45% of these concessions, alongside Shell (45%) and the local company Gas y Petroleo del Neuquen

According to Javier Rielo, TotalEnergies' director of exploration and production for the Americas region, “the sale of Rincon La Ceniza and La Escalonada [the two blocks, editor's note] is part of our active portfolio management strategy. TotalEnergies remains fully committed to Argentina, where it operates a vast estate of 183,000 net acres in Vaca Muerta after the sale of these two blocks, which represented approximately 20% of our net area