Vista in talks to take Pluspetrol stakes: report

Vista Oil & Gas is seeking to purchase Pluspetrol’s 53% interest in a joint venture company it owns with Pampa Energía, local media reported Tuesday.

According to EconoJournal, sources with knowledge of the negotiations have said that Vista, which was created by former YPF head Miguel Galuccio in 2017, is pursuing the deal to acquire the stakes in Petrolera Entre Lomas (PELSA) to establish a presence in Vaca Muerta. The local news outlet reported in December that the company had initially gone after Pampa Energía’s 47% stake in the joint venture.

PELSA is currently the seventh-largest oil producer in Argentina, with an output of 8,365 bopd from its eponymous block in the Neuquén Basin. The company also extracts about 1.5 mcm (53 mcf) of gas per day, placing it among the country’s top 10 gas producers.

Earlier, in November 2017, Vista was said to have entered a deal worth USD 500 million-600 million with China’s Sinopec for the company’s Argentinian assets. The sale, which will see Vista acquire 17 fields, is expected to be completed in Q1 2018.