Vaca Muerta investment seen reaching $60bn over five years, Goldman Sachs says

Published: 2026-04-15 03:40:08 ET GS

Published on 04/15/2026 at 03:40 am EDT

Investment in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation could reach $60bn over the next five years as energy companies ramp up infrastructure development, with much of the financing expected to come from international markets, according to projections cited by Goldman Sachs.

The anticipated capital influx is tied to efforts to expand oil and gas production in Vaca Muerta, one of the world’s largest shale reserves, spanning around 30,000 square kilometres in Patagonia. Industry players are seeking to scale up output and build pipelines and export facilities to support growing energy exports.

Bankers and analysts say Argentine firms are increasingly turning to global debt markets to fund these projects. “We are entering a strong and capital-intensive investment cycle to develop Vaca Muerta, its surrounding infrastructure, as well as mining and energy,” said Lisandro Miguens, head of Latin America Debt Capital Markets at JPMorgan. “This will lead to issuance in the primary market to finance capital expenditures, rather than refinancing maturities', Bloomberg reported.

Current production from Vaca Muerta stands at approximately 600,000 barrels of oil per day, with industry targets aiming to surpass one million barrels per day by 2030 as infrastructure bottlenecks are addressed. The formation holds the world’s fourth-largest shale oil reserves and the second-largest shale gas reserves.

Argentina’s government expects energy exports to rise significantly as new infrastructure comes online. Shipments reached $11.1bn last year and are projected to triple to $36.7bn by the end of the decade, driven by increased output and expanded transport capacity.

Corporate activity in debt markets has also picked up pace. Argentine companies issued $2.1bn in bonds during the first quarter of 2026, marking the busiest opening quarter since 2017, following a wave of refinancing deals in the previous year.

Several major financing initiatives are already underway. Gas transportation company TGS recently announced infrastructure investments of $3bn, while JPMorgan is working on what could become Argentina’s largest project finance deal, aiming to raise around $14bn for state oil firm YPF. In parallel, JPMorgan and Citigroup are in discussions to finance a $1bn pipeline project.

The scale of planned investments highlights the central role of Vaca Muerta in Argentina’s strategy to boost energy production and exports, positioning the sector as a key driver of economic growth.