Argentina Books Biggest Energy Trade Surplus in 18 Years

Argentina’s energy trade surplus surged to its highest level in 18 years in 2024 as exports jumped by 22.3% while imports slumped by 49.4%, data from the Argentinian government .

The biggest energy surplus in nearly two decades is a win for the first year in office of President Javier Milei, who has promised a domestic energy revolution to boost Argentina’s economy, exports, and foreign exchange revenues and reserves. Argentina’s energy trade surplus rose to $5.668 billion last year, thanks to rising exports and plunging imports, the government said.



Energy exports rose by 22.3% to $9.677 billion.

This export value accounted for 12.1% of Argentina’s total exports. Energy imports, on the other hand, slumped by 49.

4% from a year earlier to $4 billion, the government data showed. Chile was the top buyer of Argentinian energy last year, receiving $2.844 billion worth of energy products, a surge of 74.

1% compared to 2023. Argentina’s shale province Vaca Muerta has been touted for years as the next Permian that would make the South American country a net exporter of energy after decades of import dependence. After years of underwhelming performance in the shale basin, Milei has started to turn the fortunes for Vaca Muerta and its operators.

The president has enacted market reforms to encourage large-scale and foreign investments into the energy sector, hoping that oil and gas exports would bring in billions of U.S. dollars to Argentina’s depleted foreign currency reserves.

Oil production in Vaca Muerta has quadrupled over the past five years, from less than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) to as of the third quarter of 2024. Expectations are that Vaca Muerta’s crude oil output will hit 1 million bpd by the end of the decade. Argentina is now looking at the next step of the resource boom—exporting its huge hydrocarbon resources.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com.