With only three operators conducting initial exploratory work and a potential area limited to 850 square kilometers, the province is attempting to carve out a place for itself on the unconventional energy map.
During the Rio Oil and Gas (ROG.e 2026) international energy trade show in Rio de Janeiro, Mendoza’s official delegation hosted “Mendoza Day,” an event aimed at attracting investment for its hydrocarbon sector. However, beneath the official rhetoric regarding capital attraction, the presentation exposed the vast gap between Mendoza’s energy ambitions and the production reality of Argentina’s unconventional basin.
Unlike the rapid development of Vaca Muerta in Neuquén—which draws multi-billion dollar investments from the industry’s major global players—the Mendoza section of the formation remains in a strictly exploratory, nascent stage.
A Limited Scope and the Withdrawal of Major Oil Companies
According to data presented to investors by the province’s Director of Hydrocarbons, Lucas Erio, technical characterization studies conducted over the past two years have delineated a prospective area of just over 850 square kilometers in the province’s far south. Although formation thicknesses ranging from 180 to 300 meters were identified, actual on-the-ground activity is currently limited to commitments from just three companies: YPF, Quintana Energy-TSB, and Tango Energy.
To boost the scale of this evaluation phase, authorities announced the formation of a technical consortium to bring a DLS drilling rig over from Neuquén, with plans to drill five exploratory wells in the coming months. While the completion of a 205-square-kilometer 3D seismic survey in the Cañadón Amarillo block was hailed as a milestone by the provincial administration, the figure reveals a structural lag: it was the first acquisition of this type of geological data in Mendoza since 2017, highlighting nearly a decade of technical stagnation.
This push to test unconventional potential also stems from the need to offset the structural decline of traditional fields. The exit of major companies from the province’s mature areas—accelerated by YPF’s divestment process under the so-called “Plan Andes”—forced the Mendoza government to restructure its hydrocarbons framework, handing over 16 mature blocks to smaller companies. Mendoza’s Minister of Energy and Environment, Jimena Latorre, described this shift as an “atomization” and a “revitalization of the landscape with smaller players and leaner structures.” However, from an analytical perspective within the oil sector, the situation reflects the province’s struggle to retain top-tier operators, who have directed the bulk of their working capital toward high-yield blocks in neighboring Neuquén.
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