YPF to exit aging Argentine oil fields

“Exiting some of our mature conventional fields will release around $800 million in capex to be reallocated primarily to shale oil activity,” Horacio Marin, the company’s new chief executive officer, said in his first earnings call.

YPF is hiring a bank to manage the divestments, with the sales process set to start at the end of the month, Max Westen, head of strategy and business development, said on the call. The company unveiled the divestiture plan in early February.

YPF will add three more drilling rigs in the Vaca Muerta this year as it narrows its focus on the shale patch in a bid to spur a 24% year-on-year jump in shale oil production, Marin said. YPF’s shale oil output last year was almost 100,000 bpd.