GeoPark has applied to join Argentina’s large investment incentive regime with a plan to invest more than $1bn in the Vaca Muerta shale formation, aiming to expand oil output sharply over the next three years, Bloomberg Línea reported.
The company plans to integrate its Loma Jarillosa Este and Puesto Silva Oeste blocks into a single unconventional oil development hub in Neuquén province, increasing production from about 1,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day to around 20,000 barrels per day by 2029.
The investment programme includes spending on processing and transport infrastructure, alongside an intensive drilling campaign. GeoPark has already started drilling its first wells in Loma Jarillosa Este and expects to invest between $80mn and $100mn in 2026 to accelerate development.
Ignacio Mazariegos, head of GeoPark’s Argentina business unit, said the company sees Vaca Muerta as a strategic growth platform. “Vaca Muerta is a strategic bet for GeoPark. We have a plan underway and blocks with proven potential. We applied to the RIGI because it enhances the scope of an investment of this scale,” he said.
Argentina’s RIGI framework, introduced under President Javier Milei in 2024, offers tax, customs, currency and legal benefits for 30 years to projects exceeding $200mn in sectors such as energy and mining.
The government expanded the scheme this year to include incremental oil and gas production and exploration projects, prompting a series of major investment announcements in Vaca Muerta. Other companies that have submitted projects under the regime include Pampa Energía, Tecpetrol, Pluspetrol and YPF.
GeoPark entered Vaca Muerta in September 2025 after an earlier failed attempt to partner with Phoenix Resources and has positioned the Argentine shale basin as a central driver of its regional expansion.
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