LatinNews Daily Report - 20 December 2012

OIL | Chevron to carve up Argentina’s dead cow. The US oil giant Chevron yesterday (19 December) inked a letter of intent with Argentina’s cash-strapped state oil company, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF), for the development of the massive 'Vaca Muerta' shale gas deposits in the Patagonian province of Neuqúen. Miguel Galuccio, the president of YPF, signed a US$1.0bn deal with Chevron's Latin America and Africa chief, Ali Moshiri, for a pilot project to drill over 100 shale gas wells in the next 12 months. The full development of Vaca Muerta is estimated at US$15bn. The Argentine government expropriated a majority stake in YPF from Spain’s Repsol in April. Repsol is suing the Argentine government in Madrid for compensation and has also sued Chevron in New York in order to prevent it from developing assets in Argentina. An Argentine court also recently embargoed Chevron assets in Argentina on behalf of Ecuador, where courts have ordered the US firm to stump up US$19bn in an environmental damages lawsuit. Moshiri said the embargo would not affect Chevron’s partnership with YPF.

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