Argentina’s YPF plans to invest more than $1.5 billion in the Neuquén Province, home of the Vaca Muerta Shale, as it aims to grow crude oil and unconventional gas production.

The plans were announced March 19 by YPF President Pablo González and YPF CEO Sergio Affronti during the inauguration of a service station in Neuquén.

YPF is targeting a 56% increase in crude oil production and a 70% increase in unconventional gas production, the company said in a news release.

González said the investment will “translate into a significant increase in oil and gas production, which will boost the growth of our country.”

Earlier this month, YPF said nearly 80% of its planned $2.7 billion investment, which is up 73% compared to 2020, will go toward increasing activity and production of oil and gas. At the time, its estimated planned investment in unconventionals was $1.3 billion with intentions to drill over 180 new wells.

Considered one of the largest shale formations in the world, the Vaca Muerta holds about 60% of the country’s 27 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil reserves along with an estimated 308 trillion cubic feet of gas resources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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