Continental Resources to buy 50% of Phoenix Global Resources

Continental Resources Inc., owned by billionaire shale pioneer Harold Hamm, has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Argentine shale producer Phoenix Global Resources from Mercuria Energy Group, as the companies committed more than $4 billion in investment to boost production.

Mercuria and Continental will become equal partners in Phoenix, each holding a 50% stake, the companies said. They plan to more than triple the output to over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) within the next five years. The combination will also include shale oil assets owned by José Luis Manzano's Integra Capital.

The deal marks the latest influx of U.S. capital into Argentina's shale industry this month, following technology billionaire Peter Thiel's disclosure of a significant stake in Vista Energy SAB.

President Javier Milei's free-market reforms are helping fuel rapid growth in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation, one of the world's fastest-growing shale plays.

Commodity trader Mercuria began investing in Argentina's shale industry in 2017, when it established Phoenix through a publicly listed oil company that it later took private. Mercuria is one of the world's largest independent oil and gas traders and is primarily owned by co-founders Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi.

Earlier this year, Mercuria also reached a $1.4 billion deal to acquire one of Argentina's largest oil refineries and a network of service stations.

Continental and Phoenix also teamed up this week to bid in a Vaca Muerta exploration licensing round, submitting offers for six blocks.

Continental became the first U.S. independent shale producer to enter Argentina last year when it acquired assets from local oil company Pluspetrol SA. In January, it acquired stakes in blocks operated by Pan American Energy Group, which is 50% owned by BP Plc.