The statement carries weight given Chevron’s existing footprint in Vaca Muerta. The company has invested over $10 billion in Argentina since 1999 and holds a 50 percent stake with YPF in Loma Campana, the country’s largest unconventional field producing nearly 100,000 barrels daily. Chevron recently submitted a $13.8 billion El Trapial development project under Argentina’s large investment incentive regime, positioning the asset as a potential feedstock source for LNG monetization.
Chevron currently supplies approximately 20 million tonnes of LNG annually, comprising 16 million tonnes from equity projects and 4 million tonnes from offtake contracts on the US Gulf Coast that began operating in February 2026. The company’s expansion strategy evaluates all projects through economic, fiscal, regulatory and geopolitical lenses. “Everything will be analyzed on our project list and will be ranked,” Shaheen explained, indicating that Vaca Muerta will compete against other global developments for capital allocation.
The evaluation occurs as international buyers shift contracting preferences toward long-term agreements with diversified suppliers following supply volatility from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Middle East tensions. Shaheen noted that international purchasers prefer to secure molecules through extended contracts rather than relying on spot markets, which lack the liquidity of oil markets.
Argentina’s two leading LNG projects are Southern Energy, a consortium including Pan American Energy (30 percent), YPF (25 percent), Pampa Energía (20 percent), Harbour Energy (15 percent) and Golar LNG (10 percent), targeting 6 million tonnes annually from floating liquefaction units in Río Negro; and Argentina LNG, led by YPF (36 percent), Eni (32 percent) and XRG (32 percent), projecting 12 million tonnes from two floating units with final investment decision expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 and operations starting in 2030-2031. Southern Energy has already secured 2 million tonnes of annual offtake with Germany’s SEFE and closed a $900 million syndicated loan for the San Matías Pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta to the Río Negro coast.
Chevron faces internal capital competition, with planned investments exceeding $7 billion in Venezuela to double oil production by 2031. The company also pursues opportunities in Greece, where it received approval in June 2026 for offshore gas exploration, and maintains major LNG projects Gorgon and Wheatstone in Australia with significant sales to Japan and Singapore supply agreements beginning 2028.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
