Exxon has struck a deal with Argentinian Pluspetrol for the sale of the supermajor’s assets in the Vaca Muerta shale play.

Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source with the supermajor, that Exxon would sell Pluspetrol five blocks in the play plus its interest in oil pipeline operator Oleoductos del Valle.

Reports of a possible sale of these assets emerged in February this year, saying that Exxon was considering selling assets owned as part of a joint venture with QatarEnergy, including seven oil and gas blocks in the Vaca Muerta and holdings in the pipeline company. The assets are estimated to be valued at $1 billion at the time.

The news followed a review of the Argentinian shale assets that Exxon conducted the previous year. At the time, Exxon said it was looking for farm-in investors, but didn’t rule out asset sales. “It is still premature to determine the final outcome of the ongoing review process, which runs parallel to our development commitments in the basin. It may not necessarily result in asset divestment,” according to a company source who spoke to the Oil & Gas Journal in August 2023.

Exxon had drilled a total of 40 wells in the Dead Cow formation but only seven of those were producing. The company’s production stood at 7,300 barrels of oil and 103 million cu ft of natural gas daily as of February.

The Vaca Muerta shale play is estimated to hold recoverable resources consisting of 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Those numbers make the Vaca Muerta the world’s second-largest shale gas deposit. Total production from the formation has grown from less than 90,000 bpd five years ago to 400,000 bpd this year, not least thanks to government policies under Javier Milei that have sought to boost foreign investment in Argentina’s energy industry.