據油價網6月8日報道，阿根廷國有油氣運營商YPF的一位高管表示，該公司將把重點放在將瓦卡穆爾塔（Vaca Muerta）頁巖地層的油氣出口提高到最高水平上。

研究機構ICIS援引YPF戰略和投資主管Ariel Andreucci在一次行業活動上的話表示，“考慮到阿根廷的年消費量預計為1.5萬億立方英尺，我們將擁有200年的儲備。這將使我們在未來幾十年內每年向海外市場銷售約30萬億立方英尺的天然氣。這對YPF來說是一個很好的機會，對阿根廷經濟也是如此”。

Andreucci還承認石化行業存在機遇，并指出對石化產品的需求可能會持續到2050年以后。

然而，出口不會很快全面啟動。Andreucci承認，由于財務原因，開發瓦卡穆爾塔儲量對YPF來說是一項挑戰，并指出這意味著該公司必須使用自己的現金流來資助開發。

他稱，“貨幣化總是大規模進行的。首先，你要找到資源并將其用于出口。在YPF，我們在獲得項目信貸方面也存在一些額外的問題，所以我們必須使用自己的現金流來為新項目融資”。

據估計，瓦卡穆爾塔地層擁有世界第二大頁巖油氣儲量，估計蘊藏160億桶石油和308萬億立方英尺天然氣。

本月早些時候，咨詢機構雷斯塔能源估計，未來幾年，該地區的石油日產量可能達到100萬桶。截至今年2月，瓦卡穆爾塔的原油日產量約為29.1萬桶。

YPF今年早些時候特別表示，計劃在未來五年內將瓦卡穆爾塔地層的產量增加一倍，并將天然氣產量增加30%。截至2022年底，YPF的原油日產量剛剛超過23萬桶。

郝芬 譯自 油價網

原文如下：

Argentina’s Oil And Gas Giant To Focus On Vaca Muerta Exports

Argentina’s state oil and gas operator YPF will focus its efforts on bringing crude oil and natural gas exports from the Vaca Muerta shale formation to as high a level as they can reach, according to a senior company executive.

“Considering Argentina’s consumption is expected at 1.5 tcf/year, we would have reserves for 200 years,” said Ariel Andreucci, YPF head of strategy and investments at an industry event, as quoted by ICIS.

“This would allow us to sell to overseas markets around 3 tcf/year in decades to come. It is a great opportunity for YPF but also for Argentina’s economy.”

Andreucci also acknowledged an opportunity in petrochemicals, noting that demand for petrochemicals is likely to stick around beyond 2050.

Exports, however, are not going to start at a full scale any time soon. Developing the Vaca Muerta reserves is challenging for YPF for financial reasons, Andreucci admitted, noting this would mean the company had to use its own cash flow to finance development.

“Monetisation is always done at scale. First, you find the resources and make them available for export. At YPF, we also have some added problems to get credit for projects, so we must use our own cashflow to finance new projects,” he said.

The Vaca Muerta formation is estimated to hold the world’s second-largest shale oil and gas reserves, containing an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Earlier this month, Norway’s Rystad Energy estimated that oil production from the play could hit 1 million barrels daily in the coming years. For context, as of February this year, the Vaca Muerta was producing some 291,000 barrels of crude daily.

YPF specifically said earlier this year it planned to double its output from the Vaca Muerta formation over the next five years and increase natural gas production by 30%. As of the end of 2022, YPF was producing just over 230,000 bpd of crude oil.