The government on Friday formally admitted Tecpetrol's US$6.4 billion Los Toldos II Este oil project in Vaca Muerta to the RIGI, the large-investment incentive regime, seven weeks after announcing the approval.
Economy Ministry Resolution 1771/2026, published in the Official Gazette, covers the 78-square-kilometer block in Neuquén province near Rincón de los Sauces, which Tecpetrol will develop with the provincial energy company Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP), a 10% partner. The plan calls for 380 horizontal wells and a central plant able to treat 70,000 barrels of oil a day, plus an oil pipeline and a gas pipeline. Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the regime's evaluation committee had approved the project on August 19. It follows the October 2 announcement of RIGI approvals for Pluspetrol and Glencore, about US$16 billion together.
The investment runs in three stages, according to the resolution: US$1.635 billion through February 2027 for the plant, pipelines and the first 16 wells; US$1.268 billion through mid-2029 for 91 more wells; and US$3.529 billion through 2054 for the last 273. That adds up to US$6.432 billion. The Economy Ministry estimates the project will create 3,100 direct and 4,800 indirect jobs.
The resolution classes the project as a long-term strategic export project, the RIGI category for investments of at least US$1 billion per stage aimed at foreign sales. The company's filing puts Argentina's share of world crude trade at about 1%. Resolution 1771 also sends the project's tax, customs and exchange-rate benefits to the tax agency ARCA and the central bank for application.
The seven-week gap includes a step that did not exist in August. Since Decree 868 of September 3, applicants must declare compliance with Law 26,659, the statute sanctioning unauthorized hydrocarbon activity around the Malvinas (Falkland Islands), and the Foreign Ministry must clear them. It found no violation by Tecpetrol or anyone with a stake in the project. The company refiled its papers on September 9, which the resolution sets as its official joining date.
Tecpetrol must show it has invested at least 20% of the RIGI's US$2 billion minimum for such projects in both the first and the second year after it is notified of the resolution, and must meet the full minimum by August 31, 2027. Caputo said in August that RIGI status would let the area's developed resources grow by about 40%.
