YPF to drill three exploratory wells in the Palermo Aike formation

The oil company YPF has signed a commitment with the province of Santa Cruz to drill three exploratory wells this year in the unconventional hydrocarbon formation Palermo Aike.

According to a statement from the company, two of the wells will be located in the La Azucena area and one in Campamento Este, all within the Palermo Aike formation.

Covering 12,600 square kilometers, Palermo Aike is the second-largest unconventional hydrocarbon formation in Argentina after Vaca Muerta, located in the southwest of the country.

According to YPF’s estimates, Palermo Aike could hold resources amounting to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

The state-controlled company signed this commitment during a meeting held on Monday between the governor of Santa Cruz, Claudio Vidal, and YPF’s president, Horacio Marín.

During the meeting, YPF also agreed to transfer to Fomicruz, the state-owned company of Santa Cruz, the conventional areas that YPF operates in the province.

The blocks transferred are Cerro Piedra-Cerro Guadal Norte, Barranca Yankowsky, Los Monos, El Guadal-Lomas del Cuy, Cañadón Vasco, Cañadón Yatel, Pico Truncado-El Cordón, Los Perales-Las Mesetas, Cañadón León-Meseta Espinosa, and Cañadón de la Escondida-Las Heras.

This transfer of areas aligns with the strategy launched by YPF last year to focus its operations on unconventional blocks, mainly in Vaca Muerta.