Manzano’s role proved critical to closing the deal, leveraging his existing partnership with Mercuria in Phoenix Global Resources, where the Swiss firm holds majority ownership in the Vaca Muerta-focused oil producer alongside Manzano’s Integra Capital. Both Edenor, the country’s largest electricity distributor jointly owned by Manzano, Daniel Vila and Mauricio Filiberti, and Manzano personally will participate in the Shell acquisition, though ownership percentages remain undisclosed. Shell segregated its Argentine operations in 2018, maintaining upstream production in Vaca Muerta while transferring downstream activities to Raízen.
Mercuria operates in over 50 countries with annual revenues exceeding $140 billion, participating across the energy value chain including crude oil, refined products, natural gas, LNG, power, renewables and metals. The Geneva-based trader maintains regional operations in Mexico, Panama and Argentina. Brian Falik, Mercuria’s global chief investment officer, stated the company possesses the financial strength and operational capacity to support business growth while ensuring continuity for employees, customers, suppliers and partners. Mercuria characterized Argentina as an important energy market with robust long-term fundamentals and significant opportunities for operational growth and investment.
Wall Street analysts project Shell’s average 12-month price target at 3,996.55 GBX with 31% upside potential, ranging from 2,777.5 GBX to 6,153.45 GBX. The company reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $6.9 billion, exceeding analyst expectations and the prior year’s $5.6 billion, with operating cash flow excluding working capital reaching $17.2 billion. Shell increased its quarterly dividend 5% to $0.3906 per share and announced a $3 billion share buyback program for the next three months, down from $3.5 billion previously, while indicating potential suspension during shareholder approval of the ARC Resources acquisition. The company maintains 2026 capital expenditure guidance of $24-26 billion, including approximately $4 billion allocated to ARC Resources, expected to add 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily and support 4% compound annual production growth through 2030.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
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