Vaca Muerta, the biggest shale play in Argentina, led a year-on-year increase in oil and natural gas production in 2018 in Neuquen, as more companies bet on the resources for growth in the southwestern province. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Neuquen’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said the province’s total oil production rose 12.7% on the year to an average of 116,739 b/d in 2018, the highest in seven years, according to a statement late Tuesday. Crude production reached its highest last year in December, when it averaged 130,388 b/d, it added. “The growth in oil production in 2018 is explained almost totally by the contribution of Vaca Muerta,” the ministry said. Shale oil output rose 52% year on year in 2018, reaching a peak of 78,189 b/d in December, or 60% of total production that month, the […]