Oil and gas in Argentina: concessions, Vaca Muerta and the investment rules

Key rules

1. Who owns the hydrocarbons and who grants the rights

• Ownership. Hydrocarbon deposits belong to the national State or to the provinces, depending on where they are. Provinces own the deposits in their territory and in the sea adjacent to their coast up to 12 nautical miles; the national State owns offshore deposits from 12 nautical miles to the outer limit of the continental shelf (Law 17.319, art. 1, text per Law 26.197, art. 1; Constitution, art. 124).
• Provincial administration. Since Law 26.197 (BO 5 January 2007), provinces exercise the original domain and administration of the deposits in their territory. All permits and concessions previously granted by the national State were transferred to them by operation of law, without affecting the holders' rights, and royalties on those titles are paid to the province where the deposit sits (Law 26.197, art. 2). Each grantor designates its own enforcement authority, which keeps the canons, fees and fines (art. 4).
• Who grants what. The national or provincial Executive, as the case may be, grants exploration permits, exploitation concessions, transport and storage authorisations and processing licences (Law 17.319, art. 4, text per Law 27.742, art. 103). The national State grants transport rights for pipelines that cross two or more provinces or the City of Buenos Aires, or that serve exports or imports (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 3; Law 26.197, art. 3). The national Executive also grants processing licences for LNG liquefaction and regasification plants linked to exports or imports (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 35).
• National policy. The national Executive sets the policy for the sector, with the goals of maximising the rent from the resources and supplying the country's needs (Law 17.319, art. 3, text per Law 27.742, art. 102). The regulation adds free market principles, alignment of domestic prices with import and export parity, and long term contracts (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 1).
• Who may be a holder. State, private or mixed companies (art. 2). Holders must have a domicile in Argentina and adequate financial solvency and technical capacity, and bear the risks of the activity (art. 5). The regulation adds minimum net worth standards to be accredited before the enforcement authority (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 2). Tender participants must be in the registry kept by the authority or start registration at least 10 days before bids open (art. 50) (unconfirmed).
• YPF. Law 26.741 (BO 7 May 2012) declared 51% of YPF S.A. subject to expropriation, split 51% to the national State and 49% to the producing provinces (arts. 7 and 8). Its art. 1 (self sufficiency as a national public interest goal) was repealed by Law 27.742 (art. 160), and its policy principles now include exports to improve the balance of payments (art. 3(h), text per Law 27.742, art. 159).

2. The legislative layers in force

DNU 70/2023 (dated 20 December 2023, published 21 December 2023) appears in many summaries as the source of hydrocarbon deregulation. The text held for this guide does not support that: its Title VIII "Energía" repeals Decrees 1060/00, 1491/02, 634/03 and 311/06 and Law 25.822, repeals arts. 16 to 37 of Law 27.424 (distributed generation), and empowers the Energy Secretariat to redesign subsidies for electricity and natural gas users (arts. 171 to 177). The content of the repealed decrees is not in the sources (unconfirmed). The free export, price and royalty changes are in Law 27.742.

3. Surface reconnaissance and exploration permits

• Reconnaissance. Any capable person may carry out surface reconnaissance outside permit and concession areas, with the prior consent of the landowner and liability for damage. It creates no rights (art. 14, text per Law 27.742, art. 108).
• Exclusivity. A permit gives the exclusive right to explore within its perimeter (art. 16) and the right to an exclusive exploitation concession over discoveries, under the rules in force when the permit was granted (art. 17).
• Size. Permits are granted only in "possible" zones, in units of 100 km², up to 100 units onshore and 150 units offshore (arts. 24 and 25, text per Law 27.007).
• Terms (fixed in each tender). Conventional target: first period up to 3 years, second period up to 3 years, extension up to 5 years. Unconventional target: 4 + 4 years, extension up to 5 years. Offshore conventional periods may each be increased by one year. The extension is optional for a permit holder that has met its investment and other obligations (art. 23, text per Law 27.007, art. 1).
• Relinquishment. After the first period the holder may keep the whole area or return it; at the end of the basic term it returns everything, except that if it uses the extension it returns only 50% of the remaining area (art. 26).
• Work commitments. If investment in a period falls short, the holder pays the difference to the State, unless force majeure applies; the authority may instead roll the shortfall into the next period for accepted technical difficulties. Renouncing a permit triggers payment of the committed, unspent investment for that period (art. 20).
• Discovery and commerciality. A discovery must be reported within 30 days (art. 21). Within 30 days of determining that a discovery is commercially exploitable, the holder must declare its intent to obtain the exploitation concession, which must be granted within 60 days (art. 22).

4. Exploitation concessions

• Content. Exclusive right to exploit the deposits in the concession area for the art. 35 term (art. 27), including the right to build treatment and refining plants, pipelines, camps and other facilities inside and outside the area (art. 30), and a right to a transport authorisation for its production (art. 28, text per Law 27.742, art. 112).
• Grant. To the permit holder who declares commerciality (arts. 17 and 22), or by tender over proven zones whose concessions expired or are vacant, without any guarantee that commercial hydrocarbons exist (art. 29, text per Law 27.742, art. 113). A new concession not deriving from a permit may not exceed 250 km² (art. 34).
• Investment duty. The concessionaire must invest within reasonable terms what is needed to develop the whole area according to its proven reserves (art. 31) and submit development programmes within 90 days of the commerciality declaration and periodically after that (art. 32).
• Terms. 25, 35 and 30 years for conventional, unconventional and offshore concessions, counted from the grant resolution, plus any additional time from art. 23. New tenders may set other terms up to 10 years longer or shorter, with reasons, never perpetual. Concessions granted before the Bases Law keep the terms of the framework in force when that law was approved (art. 35, text per Law 27.742, art. 115). Under the earlier Law 27.007 text, the unconventional term included a pilot period of up to 5 years and concessionaires could request 10 year extensions, any number of times, if they had complied, were producing and filed an investment plan at least one year before expiry (Law 27.007, art. 9, replacing art. 35).
• Unconventional definition. Extraction by unconventional stimulation techniques from shale, tight sands, coal bed methane or other low permeability rock (art. 27 bis).
• Conversion and unification. A concessionaire may subdivide its area and convert part or all of it from conventional to unconventional, on a pilot plan aimed at commercial exploitation. Requests are accepted only until 31 December 2028; the authority decides in 60 days; the converted concession runs 35 years from the request, once only. The holder of an unconventional concession that also holds an adjacent concession that existed before it may ask to unify both as a single unconventional concession if it proves geological continuity (art. 27 bis, text per Law 27.742, art. 111). Conversion of the whole area does not require subdivision (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 30). The holder of a converted unconventional concession may also carry out complementary conventional activity (art. 27 bis).
• Expiry and retender. An expiring concession cannot be reawarded without a new tender; the tender may be called up to one year before expiry. For producing areas the tender documents may set a value for unrecovered investments, which the winning bidder pays to the outgoing holder if it wants to keep operating the existing wells (art. 47 bis, added by Law 27.742, art. 126). Any award at the end of the original term without an open public tender is absolutely void (art. 79(e), text per Law 27.742, art. 142).
• Reversion. On reversion, wells and the equipment and fixed installations permanently used for production pass to the State free of charge; mobile equipment not exclusively linked to the field and downstream facilities do not (art. 37).
• Provincial reserved areas. Neither the provinces nor the national State may create new areas reserved for state owned or state participated companies. Existing reservations and contracts or associations signed by provincial companies before the Bases Law keep their current conditions, but new associations with third parties must go through the tender rules of Section 5 (art. 91 bis, text per Law 27.742, art. 147).

Contested point: extensions of legacy concessions. The Bases Law removed the 10 year extension mechanism from art. 35 and requires retender at expiry (arts. 35 and 47 bis), yet the regulation says that for concessions granted before Law 27.742 "the term includes their eventual extensions" under the framework applicable to each (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 32). Whether a holder of a concession granted before July 2024 still has a right to request a Law 27.007 style 10 year extension, or only to have extensions already contemplated in its title respected, is not settled in the texts reviewed. Recent executive practice includes a 10 year extension of oil and product pipeline transport concessions (Decree 698/2025, art. 1) and an Infoleg listed 2024 decree whose title refers to a concession extension (Decree 1106/2024, title only) (unconfirmed).

5. Tenders and the "15% + X" royalty bid

• All permits and concessions are awarded by tender open to anyone meeting art. 5, without prejudice to the discovery and conversion routes (art. 45, text per Law 27.742, art. 124). Investors may also propose an area; if the Executive finds it of interest it calls a tender and the proponent is preferred on equal terms (art. 46).
• Each tender follows a model tender document agreed between the Energy Secretariat and the provinces. It must contain the conditions, guarantees and minimum investments, and may include royalty adjustment mechanisms based on total investments, revenues and operating costs. Offers are evaluated on total project value, including royalties offered, committed investment and associated production. Bidders compete on the royalty, over a base value of 15%, expressed as "15% + X", where X is chosen by the bidder and may be negative. The call must be published for at least 10 days, including in the Official Gazette, at least 60 days before bids open (art. 47, text per Law 27.742, art. 125).
• The model tender document must have three variants (offshore, conventional, unconventional) and regulate work units, royalties, entry bonus, abandonment, environmental, health, safety and CSR conditions, technical and economic capacity, national hiring, bid and performance guarantees, force majeure, sanctions, dispute resolution, award model, the tender procedure, environmental protection and projected production (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 42) (unconfirmed).
• Oppositions to a call may be filed up to 30 days before bids open; a company already producing in the area is not a valid ground (art. 49). Bidders post a bid maintenance guarantee (art. 52). The Executive may reject all bids or award to a sole bidder (art. 48).
• Offshore example. Decree 590/2026 (BO 15 July 2026) instructed an international tender for an offshore exploration permit on an investor's proposal under art. 46, delegated the award to the Energy Secretariat, required the Secretariat to set the royalty formula under art. 47, and authorised international arbitration clauses seated in a New York Convention state, with immunity carve outs for state assets (arts. 1 to 4).

6. Royalties

• Base. Royalties are paid monthly on production "produced and effectively used" (art. 59). In cash, the base is the wellhead value declared monthly: the sale price (third party price, or market value for related party or internal transfers, or the real export price) minus freight to the point used to set the commercial value. The authority may object if the declared price does not reflect the real market price (arts. 61 and 56(c)(I), text per Law 27.742, art. 133).
• Export duties do not reduce the base. No export duty may reduce the wellhead value used to compute and pay royalties to producing provinces (Law 27.541, art. 52).
• In kind. The State may elect to receive royalties in kind with 90 days' notice, for at least 6 months; the concessionaire stores liquids free for up to 30 days (art. 60).
• Not subject to royalties: hydrocarbons used by the holder in its own operations (art. 63). Hydrocarbons lost through fault or negligence count as production (art. 65).
• Late payment. Unpaid royalties lead to forfeiture three months after the due date, after a formal notice to cure (art. 80(b) and last paragraph).
• Regulatory valuation rules. The detailed royalty valuation rules are in Decrees 860 and 861 of 1996 and provincial rules; the regulation instructs the Energy Secretariat to evaluate updating them for unconventional concessions (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 46).
• Brief pointer confirmed with a correction. "12% base" is the Law 27.007 rate and still governs many existing concessions; for new tenders the base is the bid on 15% + X. The 5% floor and the 25% and 50% reductions are confirmed in the texts cited above.

7. Canons

• Exploration canon, per km² or fraction, yearly in advance: peso equivalent of 0.5 bbl (first period), 2 bbl (second period), 15 bbl (extension) (art. 57, text per Law 27.742, art. 129).
• Exploitation canon, per km² or fraction of the area, yearly in advance: peso equivalent of 10 bbl (art. 58, text per Law 27.742, art. 130).
• Barrel value: average ICE Brent first line in the first half of the previous year; exchange rate: Banco Nación US dollar selling rate on the business day before payment (art. 58 bis, text per Law 27.742, art. 131).
• Forfeiture: one year's canon unpaid three months after due date (art. 80(a)).
• Under Law 27.007 these canons were fixed peso amounts (ARS 250, 1,000 and 17,500 per km² for exploration and ARS 4,500 for exploitation) and art. 58 bis allowed an extension bonus of up to 2% of remaining proven reserves times the average basin price (Law 27.007, arts. 14 and 15). Those texts were replaced in 2024.

8. Tax stability clause and provincial taxes

• Art. 56 freeze. Holders pay the provincial and municipal taxes existing at the date of award. While the permit or concession lasts, provinces and municipalities may not tax them with new taxes or increase existing ones, except fees for services, improvement contributions and general tax increases (art. 56(a)). This text dates from 1967 and is still in the Infoleg updated text. Its scope (in particular the "general increase" exception) has been heavily litigated over the years (unconfirmed).
• The rest of art. 56 still sets out a special income tax of 55% with credits for royalties and provincial taxes, and an exemption from all other national taxes (art. 56(b) to (d)). In practice the industry pays the general income tax, VAT and other national taxes (unconfirmed). Do not rely on art. 56(d) without a specific opinion.
• Fiscal pacts. Under the Fiscal Consensus 2017, the provinces could not raise gross income tax rates in force on 30 October 2017 for hydrocarbon activities and their complementary services (including refining with retail sale), and those activities were excepted from the declining rate schedule (Law 27.429, Annex I, note 1). Provinces also committed not to raise stamp tax rates on acts linked to hydrocarbon activities (Law 27.429, clause III(j)); the Fiscal Consensus 2021 kept that commitment and keeps hydrocarbon gross income tax rates at the levels of the Hydrocarbons Law and Title III of Law 23.966 (Law 27.687, clauses SEGUNDA(c) and TERCERA(b), as summarised on the gross income tax page). Exports of hydrocarbons are not in the provinces' commitment to untax exports (Consenso 2021, clause SEGUNDA(b)).
• Rates by province. The gross income tax rate on oil and gas extraction, the stamp tax rate on concession and service contracts, and any municipal fees in Neuquén, Río Negro, Mendoza, Chubut, Santa Cruz and other producing provinces are not in the sources held (unconfirmed). The Arbitration Commission of the Multilateral Agreement issued a 2025 general resolution on oil and gas activities (RG CA 17/2025), whose content is not in the sources (unconfirmed).
• RIGI shield. A province, the City of Buenos Aires or a municipality that adheres to RIGI may not impose on a RIGI vehicle any new local tax, meaning any new taxable event or any change in base, rate, deductions or exemptions after 31 December 2023 that increases the burden; service fees may not exceed the cost of the service and may not be calculated on sales or income (Law 27.742, art. 225). Royalties are not taxes and are not frozen by RIGI (unconfirmed).

9. The provincial role in practice

Most onshore acreage, including Vaca Muerta, is provincial. In practice the province:

1. Calls and runs the tenders, or negotiates with existing concessionaires (Law 17.319, arts. 45 to 48; Law 26.197, art. 2).
2. Grants permits, concessions, conversions to unconventional (60 day decision), unifications, assignments and, where applicable, the provincial transport authorisations for pipelines that start and end in the province and do not serve exports (art. 27 bis; art. 72; Law 26.197, art. 3).
3. Collects royalties (monthly), canons (yearly), fines and fees (arts. 57 to 61, 87; Law 26.197, art. 4).
4. Approves environmental impact studies and runs public participation (Law 25.675, arts. 11 to 13 and 20 to 21; provincial environmental laws (unconfirmed)).
5. Levies gross income tax, stamp tax and, through municipalities, local fees (art. 56(a) limits; fiscal pacts).
6. Holds equity through provincial energy companies in reserved areas and associations (art. 91 bis) (unconfirmed).
7. Negotiates royalty relief. The recitals of Decree 59/2026 record that provinces reduced royalties and canons in mature areas and signed agreements with the Ministry of Economy and the producers' chamber covering Chubut, Neuquén and Santa Cruz to sustain conventional production.

Neuquén's own hydrocarbons law, its unconventional concession model, its royalty liquidation rules, its environmental rules for hydraulic fracturing and its gross income tax rate for hydrocarbons are central to any Vaca Muerta model and must be checked in the provincial official gazette (unconfirmed).

10. Free disposal, domestic prices and exports

• Free disposal and prices. Permit and concession holders own the hydrocarbons they extract and may transport, sell, process and sell derivatives freely. The national Executive may not intervene or fix domestic prices for these activities (art. 6, text per Law 27.742, art. 105). Domestic prices are those resulting from supply and demand (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 4).
• International trade is free (art. 7). Gas imports need no prior approval (Law 24.076, art. 3, text per Law 27.742, art. 153).
• Who may export. Permit holders, concessionaires, refiners and traders (art. 6); the regulation extends this to anyone who produces, processes, refines, trades, stores or fractions hydrocarbons and derivatives (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 8).
• Non objection procedure (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, arts. 9 to 29):
• The exporter files an Export Notification with: product and destination; maximum total, annual, monthly or daily volume; price and adjustment formulas; term and border exit points; end use; sources of supply and proof of production capacity; sale contracts and committed sales; a sworn statement on destination country requirements; and a legal representative with an electronic domicile (art. 12). Oil exporters add six monthly and annual production and export projections by month, crude quality, port or pipeline and estimated loading date (art. 13).
• For programmes longer than one year, the exporter must prove its right to the volumes with reserves or prospective resources and production capacity certified by independent experts, renewed on a cycle of at least three years (art. 14).
• The Secretariat must flag deficiencies within 5 business days; the objection period does not start until the file is complete (art. 19). Requests for clarification suspend the period (art. 15).
• The Secretariat may object, in whole or in part, within 30 business days, and only for: lack of availability; lack of proof of projected production, firm supply or reserves; inaccurate information; lack of capacity in any stage of the export chain; anticompetitive practices including dumping relative to the domestic market; unforeseen and significant domestic price variations; or lack of proportionality with the projections and domestic supply security (arts. 16 and 19). Objections must rest on technical and economic studies (art. 17). Objections for price spikes are temporary (art. 18).
• If objected, the exporter may replace the volumes by buying or importing equivalent hydrocarbons, or renounce exporting during the shortage; the Secretariat decides within 15 business days and may ask for a guarantee (arts. 20 and 21).
• If there is no objection, the exporter may obtain a "Constancia de Libre Exportación" within 5 business days, which it presents to Customs (art. 22). Unobjected exports are firm and cannot be reviewed again, save for exceptional force majeure measures (arts. 9 and 23). Rights and certificates may be assigned with Secretariat verification (art. 27).
• Gas export clearance does not authorise building new pipelines or connections (art. 24); pipeline arrangements need regulator involvement (art. 25).
• Transition clause. During the energy emergency declared by Law 27.742, art. 1 (one year from the law), the Secretariat could manage a gradual transition to free exports (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 29). Whether any transition measure remains in force is not clear from the sources (unconfirmed).
• Law versus regulation. The law says the Secretariat may object only within "30 days"; the regulation counts 30 business days and starts the clock only on a complete file (Law 17.319, art. 6; Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 19). An exporter relying on the shorter statutory reading takes a litigation risk.

11. Gas market and Plan Gas.Ar

• Framework. Natural gas transport and distribution are public services regulated by Law 24.076, reordered in 2025 (unconfirmed). The gas and electricity regulators were merged into the Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas y la Electricidad; until it was constituted, ENARGAS kept its functions (Law 27.742, art. 161). By July 2026 decrees already assign tasks to the merged regulator (DNU 580/2026, art. 2), while January 2026 resolutions still refer to ENARGAS (Res. SE 23/2026, art. 3) (unconfirmed).
• Plan Gas.Ar. DNU 892/2020 (BO 16 November 2020) declared the promotion of Argentine gas production a national public interest and approved a supply scheme in which producers sell volumes to distributors and CAMMESA under contracts awarded by competitive auctions, with maximum reference prices at the PIST (point of entry to the transport system) (arts. 1, 2 and 4). DNU 730/2022 (BO 4 November 2022) replaced the plan with the "Plan de Reaseguro y Potenciación de la Producción Federal de Hidrocarburos...", covering 2023 to 2028, and extended the term to 2028 inclusive, extendable by the Secretariat (art. 4(b), as replaced). Participation is voluntary (art. 2).
• Export preferences inside the plan. Participating producers may receive firm export quotas in summer and/or winter, allocated by basin according to awarded volumes and price discounts offered. No awardee may export in a period more than 30% of the total authorised export volume or 50% of its delivery commitment, whichever is lower. The authority sets a minimum export price, deemed the reasonable commercial price under art. 6 of Law 17.319 (DNU 892/2020, art. 4(c) and (d), text per DNU 730/2022).
• 2025 and 2026 adjustments.
• Res. SE 606/2025 (BO 29 December 2025): producers that adhere accept assignment of their supply contracts with Energía Argentina S.A. to the distributors; the State keeps paying its share of the injection price through the plan's compensation mechanism; quarterly investment reporting is relaxed (except for Round 5.2 commitments); the provisional payment is set at 90% of the compensation; adhesion by TAD within 30 business days of notice, no partial or conditional adhesions (arts. 1 and 3).
• DNU 26/2026 (BO 26 January 2026): the State may pay a portion of the Annual Uniform Price (Precio Anual Uniforme, PAU) to reduce what users pay; the difference between the PAU and the auction market price, positive or negative, is for the State's account (point 13 of the plan, as replaced, art. 1).
• Res. SE 23/2026 (BO 30 January 2026): set the PAU for 2026 consumption, ordered contracts to be adapted within 5 calendar days, and linked the PAU to the focused energy subsidy regime of Decree 943/2025 (arts. 1 to 5) (unconfirmed).
• Cold zone surcharge (Law 27.828). A surcharge of up to 7.5% on the gas price at the PIST funds the gas consumption subsidy trust fund. It applies to all gas consumed or traded through networks or pipelines in Argentina, except gas exported as natural gas or LNG and imported regasified LNG. Producers act as collection agents on their invoices; the Executive may raise or lower the level by up to 50%; the regime runs until 31 December 2031 (Law 25.565, art. 75, text per Law 27.828, art. 1; art. 11).
• Distribution pass through. Distributors' prices must include gas acquisition costs resulting from competitive processes, with automatic pass through guaranteed by the regulator (Law 24.076 t.o. 2025, art. 38(c), text per Law 27.828, art. 8).

12. Midstream: transport, processing and storage

• Transport authorisations. Granted by the national or provincial Executive to persons meeting art. 5. A concessionaire building permanent transport works that go beyond its lots must obtain one; within its lots it is optional. Owners of conditioning, separation, fractionation, liquefaction or other processing projects may obtain transport authorisations to and from their plants, not subject to a term (art. 40, text per Law 27.742, art. 118).
• Terms. Authorisations linked to a concession run for the same term as the concession; if assigned, they may be extended for 10 year periods if the holder has complied and is transporting at the time of the request; at expiry the facilities pass to the State free of charge. Transport concessions granted before the Bases Law keep their original terms (art. 41, text per Law 27.742, art. 119). Processing licences are not subject to a term (art. 41).
• No exclusivity; open access. Authorisations and licences carry no exclusivity (art. 42). Transporters with spare capacity must carry third party hydrocarbons without discrimination and at the same price for all in equal circumstances, and must release unused contracted capacity. Processing plants must process third party hydrocarbons up to 5% of capacity on agreed terms, which the authority may raise after four years from commercial start up if idle capacity persists. These duties do not apply to refinery process units and their storage, LNG liquefaction plants and the transport authorisations of those plants (art. 43, text per Law 27.742, art. 121; Decree 1057/2024, Annex II, art. 10). Failure to provide access is a ground for forfeiture (art. 80(h)).
• Types of transport titles (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 33): (a) and (b) transport concessions granted before Law 27.742, with open access under Energy Secretariat or regulator rules and Decrees 44/1991, 729/1995 and 115/2019; (c) new authorisations linked to concessions, no public tender needed, not a public service, free pricing without discrimination, extendable by 10 years; (d) authorisations for processing projects and stand alone pipelines.
• Underground gas storage in depleted reservoirs requires an authorisation, with the consent of the area holder and at the applicant's risk; it has no term and no third party access duty (art. 44 bis, added by Law 27.742, art. 123). Other storage is regulated by the Energy Secretariat and Law 13.660 (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, arts. 5, 6, 36 and 38).
• Gas transport and distribution licences under Law 24.076 are 35 years plus a single 20 year extension subject to a regulator evaluation and public hearing at least 18 months before expiry (Law 24.076, art. 6, text per Law 27.742, art. 155; Decree 1738/1992 Annex I, art. 6, text per Decree 1057/2024, Annex II, art. 15).
• Technical rules for liquids pipelines. Res. SE 119/2026 (BO 20 May 2026) approved the Reglamento de Transporte de Hidrocarburos Líquidos for systems crossing two or more provinces or serving exports or imports of crude, products and natural gas liquids. The main standard is ASME B31.4 (2022), with US CFR recommendations, covering design, routing, corrosion control and integrity management. A transport authorisation under Section 4 of Law 17.319 is required before operation. Sanctions follow Chapter V of Decree 44/1991. It repealed Res. 120/2017 and invites provinces to adhere (arts. 1 to 5).
• Recent midstream acts. Decree 698/2025 (BO 1 October 2025) extended for 10 years from 6 November 2027 a set of crude and product pipeline transport concessions crossing Neuquén, Mendoza, San Luis, Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, against a USD 364,300,000 work and investment plan, with substantial non compliance in 2025 to 2027 as a ground for forfeiture (arts. 1 to 3). DNU 580/2026 (BO 8 July 2026) repealed Decree 689/2002 and ordered the regulator to set a unified capacity price for the expanded Perito Moreno gas pipeline, paid by all shippers, using the awarded price as reference (arts. 1 and 2).

13. LNG

• Statutory basis. LNG exports must be authorised by the Energy Secretariat within 120 days of the application, under rules that require proof of the upstream investments needed to supply the liquefaction project (Law 24.076, art. 3 bis, added by Law 27.742, art. 154).
• Declaration of Gas Resource Availability. The Secretariat had six months from the Bases Law to issue a long term availability study; it must be updated at least every five years (art. 3 bis; Decree 1057/2024, Annex II, art. 3) (unconfirmed).
• Firm export rights. Authorisations are firm for the authorised volumes for up to 30 years from start up of the onshore or floating liquefaction plant or each expansion. The holder may export every day without interruption, restriction or redirection for any cause, and has unrestricted access to its gas supply and contracted transport, processing and storage. Later changes in the law, regulations or resolutions do not affect firm authorisations unless more favourable. Applicants need not have sale contracts for all volumes. Authorisations are assignable with prior approval (art. 3 bis).
• Procedure (Decree 1057/2024, Annex II): prove projected own availability or firm supply from reserves and resources, certified by external auditors, for at least 5 years (renewed at least 6 months before expiry); solvency; maximum annual, monthly and daily volumes; technical consistency of transport, liquefaction, storage and export facilities, location and financing; and whether a RIGI application was filed (arts. 4 and 11). The Secretariat may object within 120 business days from a complete file, only for lack of national availability per the Declaration, lack of capacity, inaccurate information or anticompetitive practices (arts. 6 and 7). If unobjected, it issues the "Autorización de Libre Exportación de GNL" (art. 8). Before revoking it, the Secretariat must give notice to the holder and to secured creditors financing RIGI projects, with a 10 business day defence period (art. 13).
• Infoleg lists 2025 Ministry of Economy area resolutions on an LNG export procedure and LNG free export certificates (Res. 145/2025 and 165/2025, titles only, cited on the energy and mining page) (unconfirmed).

14. RIGI for oil and gas projects

Eligible oil and gas activities (Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 3(n)(viii), text per Decree 105/2026): (1) treatment and separation plants, pipelines and storage; (2) transport and storage of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons; (3) petrochemicals (including fertilisers) and refining; (4) production, gathering, treatment, processing, fractionation and liquefaction of gas and transport of gas for LNG export, with the necessary infrastructure; (5) new onshore developments, meaning projects in areas that had no significant development when Law 27.742 was sanctioned and that have no exploitation or production investment when the application is filed; (6) offshore exploration, exploitation and production.

The table in force after Decree 105/2026 is printed as an image not reproduced in the texts held; the rows combine the original table and the Decree 105/2026 recitals, as on the RIGI page.

Points specific to oil and gas:

• Mining and oil and gas concessions count toward the minimum only inside a combined 15% cap with shares and real estate (Law 27.742, art. 174; Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 38). Buying acreage does not get you to USD 200,000,000.
• For hydrocarbon assets, the depletion charge is multiplied by 1.6 if the VPU opts for accelerated depreciation (Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 69(d)). Infrastructure works may be depreciated over 60% of their estimated useful life; movable assets in at least two equal annual instalments (Law 27.742, art. 183(b)).
• Export duties: project exports are exempt after 3 years from adhesion (2 years for Long Term Strategic Export projects) (art. 191). Free trade: no export bans, quotas or domestic supply priorities unless written into the approval act (art. 193, as summarised on the RIGI page). That is stronger than the art. 6 non objection regime.
• FX: export proceeds released from mandatory conversion at 20%, 40% and 100% after 2, 3 and 4 years from start up (art. 198).
• Provinces and royalties. RIGI stability freezes national and adhering local taxes (arts. 201, 202 and 225), but royalties are not mentioned and are set by the grantor under the concession (unconfirmed).
• Deadline. Applications until one year after 8 July 2026 (Law 27.742, art. 168; Decree 105/2026, art. 1) (unconfirmed).
• An LNG export notification must disclose whether a RIGI application was filed (Decree 1057/2024, Annex II, art. 4(e)).

15. Repealed incentive regimes and grandfathering (Law 27.828)

• Decree 929/2013 created the investment promotion regime for hydrocarbon exploitation: for projects investing at least USD 1,000,000,000 in foreign currency over five years, from the fifth year the right to export 20% of production at 0% export duty, with free availability of 100% of the related export proceeds; and, if domestic supply was short, a domestic price not lower than the export reference price, with priority access to the FX market (arts. 3, 6 and 7). Law 27.007 lowered the threshold to USD 250,000,000 in three years, with benefits from the third year on 20% of production (60% offshore in water deeper than 90 metres) (Law 27.007, art. 19), and added a provincial contribution of 2.5% of the initial investment for corporate social responsibility (art. 21) and preferential import duties for capital goods (art. 22). The Energy Secretariat approved a 0% export duty procedure (Res. SE 26/2023, BO 27 January 2023) and was still approving projects in July 2024, for example a USD 250,000,000 project in a Neuquén unconventional concession (Res. SE 125/2024, arts. 1 to 4).
• Decree 277/2022 (BO 28 May 2022) created FX access regimes for incremental oil (RADPIP) and gas (RADPIGN) production, with a 2021 baseline and access to foreign currency for 20% of incremental production, plus a supplier development regime (arts. 1 to 7).
• Law 27.828 (sanctioned 24 September 2026, BO 13 October 2026, in force on publication) repealed Decree 277/2022 (art. 9) and repealed Decree 929/2013 and arts. 19 to 22 of Law 27.007, "without prejudice to the acquired rights of the holders of investment projects approved" under the regime, whose benefits continue until a termination cause in art. 9 of Decree 929/2013 occurs (art. 10). Those causes are expiry of the concession, forfeiture under art. 80 of Law 17.319, or substantial breach of the project (Decree 929/2013, art. 9).
• What remains uncertain. Law 27.828 grandfathers Decree 929/2013 projects but says nothing similar about Decree 277/2022 beneficiaries. The BCRA FX ordered text to 14 September 2026 (before Law 27.828) still provides for "Decree 277/22" certificates that allow access for imports, related party debt, dividends and repatriations (FX rules, points 3.4.4.6 and 3.17). Whether certificates already issued or benefits already recognised can still be used after 13 October 2026 is not resolved in the sources (unconfirmed). How a grandfathered Decree 929/2013 holder exercises "free availability" of export proceeds under today's FX rules is equally unclear; the FX text held contains no specific point for it (unconfirmed).

16. FX rules for oil and gas exporters

Full rules are on the exchange controls page. Sector points from the BCRA ordered text to 14 September 2026:

• Export proceeds of chapter 27 (mineral fuels, crude, gas), except a few listed positions: bring in and convert within 30 calendar days of shipment (point 7.1.2.1), and in any case within 20 business days of collection (point 7.1.1).
• Plan Gas investors. Profits from foreign direct investment brought in and converted from 16 November 2020 to finance Plan Gas projects may be paid abroad no earlier than 2 years after conversion, net of any Decree 277/2022 benefits used, with proof of capitalisation (point 3.4.4.5). Foreign financial debt brought in from 16 November 2020 for Plan Gas projects, with an average life of at least 2 years, is exempt from the BCRA prior approval requirement on maturity (point 3.5.4).
• Decree 277/2022 certificates (points 3.4.4.6 and 3.17): see section 15. The certificate mechanism requires a single nominated bank that issues certifications, tracks benefits recognised by the Energy Secretariat and notifies the BCRA within 10 calendar days of its appointment (points 3.17.2 to 3.17.4).
• Dividends from audited financial statements for fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2025 can be paid without prior approval (point 3.4.4.1, per the exchange controls page).
• RIGI vehicles: Section 14 of the FX rules and Law 27.742, arts. 198 to 201 and 205.

17. Export duties

• Cap. Hydrocarbon and mining export duties may not exceed 8% of the taxable value or official FOB price, and may never reduce the wellhead value for royalties (Law 27.541, art. 52).
• Conventional crude (NCM 2709.00.10). Base Value USD 65 and Reference Value USD 80 per barrel of ICE Brent: 0% at or below USD 65, 8% at or above USD 80, formula in between. The conventional share is measured per concession area under Energy Secretariat rules. Effective when those rules are issued or 60 days after publication (BO 29 January 2026), whichever comes first (Decree 59/2026, arts. 1 to 5) (unconfirmed).
• Other crude, including unconventional (Decree 488/2020, art. 7). Base Value USD 45 and Reference Value USD 60: 0% at or below USD 45, 8% at or above USD 60 (as described in the recitals of Decree 59/2026).
• Products. Oils and lubricants at 0% (Decree 811/2025); certain fuels on a declining schedule from 1 July 2026 (Decree 566/2026) (details on the energy and mining page).
• RIGI exemption after 3 years (Law 27.742, art. 191).

18. Environmental permits

• National minimum standards. Any work or activity likely to degrade the environment significantly needs an environmental impact assessment before execution (Law 25.675, art. 11). The proponent files a sworn statement; the competent authority decides whether an environmental impact study is required, evaluates it and issues an environmental impact declaration approving or rejecting it (art. 12). Studies must describe the project, identify its effects and propose mitigation (art. 13). Authorities must hold consultations or public hearings for activities with significant negative effects; opinions are not binding, but departing from them requires published reasons (arts. 20 and 21). Anyone carrying out environmentally risky activities must take out environmental insurance sufficient to fund restoration (art. 22).
• Competent authority is normally the province where the work is located (unconfirmed).
• Operator duties under the Hydrocarbons Law: use modern and efficient techniques, avoid damage to reservoirs, avoid waste, adopt safety measures, minimise harm to farming, fishing, communications and aquifers, and comply with national, provincial and municipal rules (art. 69, text per Law 27.742, art. 136).
• Harmonised law still pending. Law 27.007 (art. 23) and Law 27.742 (art. 163) mandate a uniform hydrocarbons environmental law agreed with the provinces. Decree 1057/2024, Annex III, lists its content: environmental licensing, well and facility abandonment, environmental liabilities, waste and emissions, well integrity, greenhouse gas emissions, guarantees and insurance, public participation, CSR, inspections and sanctions (arts. 1 and 2). No such law is in the sources (unconfirmed).
• National technical rules for pipelines: Res. SE 119/2026 (section 12). National environmental rules for hydrocarbon exploration and production (for example on abandonment and spills) were not downloaded (unconfirmed).
• Glaciers. If a project is in a glacier or periglacial area, the glacier law applies; see the energy and mining page (Law 26.639 as amended by Law 27.804).

19. Surface owners, labour, assignments, sanctions and disputes

• Surface owners. Holders have the easement and occupation rights of the Mining Code over public and private land; a landowner's opposition or disagreement on compensation cannot stop authorised works if the holder posts adequate security (art. 66, text per Law 27.742, art. 134). Holders must compensate landowners; owners may sue or accept zonal amounts fixed by the Executive (art. 100, text per Law 27.742, art. 151), which may be set only once per calendar year (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 45). Joint Energy Secretariat resolutions increased compensation amounts in December 2024 and February 2026 (Infoleg titles of Joint Res. 1/2024, 2/2024 and 2/2026) (unconfirmed).
• Local hiring. At least 75% of each holder's staff must be Argentine citizens, with preference for residents of the region, within the terms set by regulation or tender documents (art. 71, text per Law 27.742, art. 138).
• Assignments of permits, concessions and authorisations need prior authorisation of the grantor, to assignees that meet the requirements, filed with a draft public deed (art. 72). Notaries may not execute the deed without a certificate that no taxes are owed for the right (art. 74). Loans may provide that default transfers the concession to the lender, with prior Executive approval (art. 73).
• Information. Holders file annually their proven and unproven reserves, contingent resources and prospective resources certified by external auditors, with conventional and unconventional production forecasts (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 44).
• Fines. From 80,000 to 80,000,000 UVA depending on gravity; the fine may be challenged in court within 10 days of payment (art. 87, text per Law 27.742, art. 145). Registry sanctions: warning, suspension or removal (art. 88).
• Forfeiture (art. 80): unpaid canon or royalties after three months; substantial and unjustified breach of productivity, conservation, investment or work duties; repeated information or inspection breaches; breach of arts. 22 and 32; bankruptcy; dissolution; and breach of third party access duties. Except for bankruptcy and dissolution, the authority must first give notice to cure.
• Arbitration. Concession terms may provide for an arbitral tribunal on the financial consequences of forfeiture or nullity and on specified technical disputes (art. 86). Offshore tenders may include international arbitration (Decree 590/2026, art. 4). Bilateral investment treaties are covered on the treaties page.

Step by step

A. Entering upstream: tender, farm in or assignment

1. Set up the vehicle. A local company or a registered branch of a foreign company with an Argentine domicile (art. 5). Register with ARCA and the commercial registry (see the entities pages) (unconfirmed). If RIGI may apply later, think about a single project vehicle from the start (RIGI).
2. Qualify. Prove financial solvency, minimum net worth and technical capacity to the enforcement authority (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 2), and register in the bidders' or oil companies' registry at least 10 days before bids open (art. 50) (unconfirmed).
3. Route 1, tender. Buy the tender documents, prepare the bid (work units, investment, royalty "15% + X", entry bonus), and post the bid guarantee (arts. 47 and 52). Award by the provincial or national Executive (art. 48); title registered by the Government Notary (art. 55).
4. Route 2, farm in or acquisition. Sign an assignment or association agreement with the current holder, then file for prior authorisation of the assignment with the draft public deed and a certificate of no tax debts on the right (arts. 72 and 74). If the counterpart is a provincial company in a reserved area, the new association must go through a tender (art. 91 bis).
5. Environmental approval. File the sworn statement and, if required, the environmental impact study with the provincial authority; attend the public consultation; obtain the environmental impact declaration and environmental insurance (Law 25.675, arts. 11, 12, 20 and 22) (unconfirmed).
6. Exploration. Pay the canon in advance; execute the committed work units; report discoveries within 30 days (arts. 20, 21 and 57).
7. Concession. Declare commerciality within 30 days; concession within 60 days; development programmes within 90 days (arts. 22 and 32).
8. Operate. Pay royalties monthly on declared wellhead value (arts. 59 and 61) and the exploitation canon yearly (art. 58); file annual certified reserves and resources (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 44); keep 75% national staff (art. 71).

Time: tender calendars are set by each call (minimum 60 days from publication to bids, art. 47); a farm in takes as long as the provincial authorisation of the assignment (unconfirmed). Cost: bid guarantee, entry bonus and canons as per tender; notarial and registry costs (unconfirmed).

B. Converting a conventional concession to unconventional

1. Design a pilot plan for commercial exploitation of the unconventional target (art. 27 bis).
2. File the conversion request with the provincial authority for a sector or the whole area before 31 December 2028 (art. 27 bis; Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 30).
3. The authority decides within 60 days; if approved, the unconventional concession runs 35 years from the request.
4. If you also hold an adjacent concession that existed before it, request unification by proving geological continuity (art. 27 bis).
5. Negotiate royalty and other terms with the province; under Law 27.007 the concessionaire could get a royalty reduction of up to 25% only if the request was filed within 36 months of that law (Law 27.007, art. 28) (unconfirmed).

C. Exporting crude or gas

1. Prepare the Export Notification (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, arts. 12 and 13), with independent certification of reserves or resources if the programme exceeds one year (art. 14).
2. File it with the Energy Secretariat (unconfirmed).
3. Answer deficiency notices (5 business days for the Secretariat to raise them) and clarification requests (arts. 15 and 19).
4. If no objection in 30 business days, request the Constancia de Libre Exportación, issued in 5 business days, and present it to Customs (art. 22).
5. Ship; bring in and convert the proceeds within 30 calendar days of shipment (BCRA, point 7.1.2.1).
6. Pay the export duty, if any (Decree 59/2026 or Decree 488/2020), and keep royalties computed on wellhead value (Law 27.541, art. 52).

D. LNG export project

1. Secure upstream supply (own concessions or firm supply contracts) and certify availability for at least 5 years (Decree 1057/2024, Annex II, art. 4(a)).
2. Obtain the national processing licence for the liquefaction plant (Annex I, art. 35) and transport authorisations (art. 40) (unconfirmed).
3. File the LNG Export Notification with solvency, volumes, technical design, location, financing and RIGI status (Annex II, art. 4).
4. Wait for the 120 business day objection period from a complete file (Annex II, art. 7), then obtain the Autorización de Libre Exportación de GNL (art. 8).
5. Consider RIGI (USD 600,000,000 for gas production for export; USD 200,000,000 for liquefaction) and, for very large phased projects, Long Term Strategic Export status (Law 27.742, art. 172).
6. Keep renewing the availability proof at least 6 months before expiry and report changes (Annex II, art. 11).

E. Pipeline or treatment plant

1. Decide jurisdiction: interprovincial or export pipelines are national; intraprovincial ones provincial (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 3; Law 26.197, art. 3).
2. Apply for the transport authorisation (art. 40) or processing licence; no public tender is needed for authorisations linked to a concession (Annex I, art. 33(c)).
3. Design and build to Res. SE 119/2026 (ASME B31.4) for interprovincial or export liquids lines and file the commissioning documentation before operating (Res. SE 119/2026, art. 2 and Annex) (unconfirmed).
4. Obtain the provincial environmental impact declaration along the route (Law 25.675, arts. 11 and 12) (unconfirmed).
5. Offer spare capacity to third parties without discrimination (art. 43), unless the line is dedicated to LNG exports (Annex II, art. 10).
6. If capex reaches USD 300,000,000 (transport and storage) or USD 200,000,000 (processing), apply to RIGI on TAD before the July 2027 deadline (see Example 2).

Costs and timelines

Rates and amounts

Thresholds

Deadlines

Timeline of norms

Worked examples

All inputs marked "hypothetical" are illustrations chosen for this guide, not market data. Peso figures use ARS 1,563.90 per US$ (MEP, 23 October 2026, per some secondary summaries) (unconfirmed); the province will in fact convert at the rate set in its royalty rules (unconfirmed).

Example 1: royalty and provincial take on one shale well for one month

Inputs (hypothetical). An unconventional oil well in a Neuquén concession granted under the Law 27.007 regime produces in one month:

• Oil: 30,000 bbl, all sold domestically at USD 65.00 per bbl at the sale point, with freight from the well to that point of USD 3.00 per bbl.
• Associated gas: 3,000 thousand m³ produced; 150 thousand m³ burned as fuel in the field; 2,850 thousand m³ sold at USD 110 per thousand m³ at the sale point, with gathering and transport to that point of USD 10 per thousand m³.
• Royalty rate: 12% (Law 27.007 rate) and two alternatives.
• Provincial gross income tax: 3% of sales (hypothetical rate).
• Concession area 100 km², ICE Brent average first half of 2025 of USD 70 (hypothetical) (unconfirmed).

Step 1. Wellhead value (art. 61). Sale price minus freight to the sale point.

Step 2. Royalty (art. 59).

Step 3. Gross income tax (hypothetical 3% of sales). 2,263,500 × 3% = USD 67,905.00 (ARS 106,196,629.50).

Step 4. Exploitation canon (art. 58). 10 bbl × 100 km² = 1,000 bbl × USD 70 = USD 70,000 a year for the whole concession, paid in advance; one month equivalent USD 5,833.33 (ARS 9,122,750.00). This is an area charge, shown here for comparison only.

Step 5. Total provincial take for the month.

Step 6. If the oil were exported. Assume the 30,000 bbl are exported at USD 65 FOB with Brent above USD 60, so the Decree 488/2020 scheme gives 8% (hypothetical;): export duty 1,950,000 × 8% = USD 156,000 (ARS 243,968,400). This is a national tax. The royalty base stays at the wellhead value of USD 1,860,000 for oil; the export duty may not reduce it (Law 27.541, art. 52). The proceeds must be converted within 30 calendar days of shipment (BCRA, point 7.1.2.1).

Step 7. What is not included. Income tax, VAT (exports zero rated), bank debit and credit tax, stamp tax on the sale contracts, municipal fees, and the cold zone surcharge on the gas sale, which the producer collects from the buyer as a collection agent (up to 7.5% of the PIST price) and passes to ARCA rather than bearing it (Law 25.565, art. 75, per Law 27.828).

Reading the result: in the 12% case the province takes roughly one dollar in seven of gross sales before any national tax. The difference between the old 12% and a tender at 15% + X is a negotiating variable now; the difference between 12% and the 5% floor is a political one.

Example 2: midstream project, RIGI versus general regime

Inputs (hypothetical). A liquids pipeline and storage project in Neuquén and Río Negro (interprovincial, so a national transport authorisation):

• Capex USD 600,000,000, of which USD 60,000,000 are gas compressors (NCM 8414.80.32, above 200 m³/h) imported in 6 customs declarations of USD 10,000,000 each. Capex is above the USD 300,000,000 RIGI minimum for transport and storage (Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 29) (unconfirmed).
• Year 3 of operation: tariff revenue USD 120,000,000; operating costs USD 25,000,000; no debt (to keep interest out of the comparison).
• Useful life for tax purposes: 30 years under the general regime (hypothetical) (unconfirmed); RIGI option: 60% of 30 = 18 years (Law 27.742, art. 183(b)(ii)), applied to the whole capex for simplicity.
• Bank debit and credit tax at 0.6% on revenue credited and operating payments debited (as on the bank tax page).
• All income converted to pesos at ARS 1,563.90 to apply the 2026 corporate tax scale; inflation adjustment and FX differences ignored.

Step 1. Construction phase: import charges on the compressors.

Import duty on line pipe and other materials not in the BK list is not computed.

Step 2. Year 3 income tax.

Sources: ARCA Escala 2026 (brackets ARS 133,514,185.74 and ARS 1,335,141,857.38; fixed amount ARS 393,866,847.93 plus 35% on the excess); Law 27.742, art. 183(a) and (b).

Step 3. Bank debit and credit tax. (120,000,000 + 25,000,000) × 0.6% = USD 870,000 (ARS 1,360,593,000) under both regimes. Credit against income tax: 33% = USD 287,100 (ARS 448,995,690) in the general regime (Decree 380/2001, art. 13); 100% = USD 870,000 for RIGI (Law 27.742, art. 189).

Step 4. Dividends. Assume the whole after tax profit is distributed. General: (75,000,000 − 26,203,045.08) × 7% = USD 3,415,786.84. RIGI: (61,666,666.67 − 15,416,666.67) × 7% = USD 3,237,500.00, falling to 3.5% (USD 1,618,750.00) for distributions after seven years (Law 27.742, arts. 184 and 185).

Step 5. Year 3 national take.

Reading the result. In this illustration RIGI saves about USD 11,500,000 in year 3, plus USD 2,100,000 of import charges and the VAT financing at construction. Part of the year 3 saving is timing: accelerated depreciation ends after year 18, while the general regime keeps deducting until year 30. The rate difference (25% against an effective 34.94%) is permanent for 30 years (art. 201). Not modelled: provincial gross income tax on tariffs and stamp tax on transport contracts, which RIGI freezes at 31 December 2023 levels only if the province adheres (art. 225); FX benefits (art. 198), which matter less for a domestic tariff business; and RIGI compliance costs (guarantees, 20% local supplier plan, reporting).

Cost to do it (RIGI midstream). Minimum USD 300,000,000 of computable assets in transport and storage, 40% within the first two years (Law 27.742, art. 173); application on TAD with the investment plan before July 2027; a special CUIT with the suffix "RIGI" is requested from ARCA within 10 business days of approval (as described on the RIGI page) (unconfirmed).

Practical traps

1. Assuming 12% royalties on new acreage. New tenders compete on 15% + X, and the province can award well above 12% if X is positive (art. 47). Model the bid, not the old law.
2. Assuming legacy extensions survive. The 10 year extension mechanism was removed from art. 35 and expiring concessions must be retendered (art. 47 bis), but Decree 1057/2024 preserves "eventual extensions" of concession granted before July 2024s. Get a provincial position in writing before pricing a deal on an extension.
3. Missing the 31 December 2028 conversion cutoff (art. 27 bis). After that date no conversion requests are accepted.
4. Counting acreage toward RIGI. Concessions count only within the 15% cap (art. 174).
5. Relying on Decree 929/2013 or Decree 277/2022. Both were repealed on 13 October 2026 (Law 27.828). Grandfathering exists only for approved Decree 929/2013 projects; Decree 277/2022 holders face an open question while the BCRA text still mentions the certificates.
6. Reading the 30 day export window as calendar days. The regulation uses 30 business days from a complete file (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 19).
7. Forgetting the certified reserves requirement for export programmes longer than one year and for LNG (Annex I, art. 14; Annex II, art. 4).
8. Cold zone surcharge on domestic gas sales. Since 13 October 2026 producers must collect it on invoices and pay it to ARCA, with interest and fines under Law 11.683 if late (Law 25.565, art. 75). Exports are excluded.
9. Losing the open access exemption. Only LNG dedicated transport is exempt from art. 43; a pipeline that also carries domestic volumes must offer spare capacity.
10. Treating art. 56(d) as a national tax exemption. It is still printed in the law but is not applied in practice (unconfirmed).
11. Ignoring the provincial layer. Royalty liquidation rules, gross income tax, stamp tax, environmental permits and provincial company participation are provincial. None of them are in this page's sources.
12. Converting export proceeds late. Chapter 27 proceeds must be converted within 30 calendar days of shipment, shorter than for most goods (BCRA, point 7.1.2.1).
13. Labour quota. At least 75% Argentine staff per holder (art. 71); plan expatriate secondments accordingly.

Recent changes

• 8 July 2024. Law 27.742: free export with non objection, no domestic price setting, royalty by tender (15% + X), retender at expiry, transport and storage reform, underground storage, LNG regime, regulator merger, RIGI.
• 29 November 2024. Decree 1057/2024 regulates the hydrocarbon and gas chapters (export procedure, LNG procedure, transport titles, model tender document, annual certified resources).
• 1 October 2025. Decree 698/2025 extends a set of crude and product pipeline concessions for 10 years from November 2027.
• 29 December 2025. Res. SE 606/2025 adjusts Plan Gas.Ar (contract assignment to distributors, 90% provisional payment).
• 26 and 30 January 2026. DNU 26/2026 (Annual Uniform Price) and Res. SE 23/2026 (PAU for 2026).
• 29 January 2026. Decree 59/2026: conventional crude export duty thresholds raised to USD 65 and USD 80.
• 19 February 2026. Decree 105/2026: RIGI deadline extended one year; new onshore developments eligible.
• 20 May 2026. Res. SE 119/2026: liquids pipeline technical rules (ASME B31.4).
• 8 July 2026. DNU 580/2026: unified capacity price for the expanded Perito Moreno gas pipeline.
• 15 July 2026. Decree 590/2026: offshore tender with international arbitration clauses.
• 13 October 2026. Law 27.828: repeal of Decree 929/2013, Law 27.007 arts. 19 to 22 and Decree 277/2022; cold zone surcharge reset (up to 7.5%, exports excluded) until 2031; pass through of gas acquisition costs; extension of the renewables regime deadline of Law 27.191, art. 17, to 31 December 2045 (art. 6).

Pending changes

• Harmonised national hydrocarbons environmental law (Law 27.742, art. 163; Decree 1057/2024, Annex III).
• New model tender document with three variants (Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, art. 42) (unconfirmed).
• Energy Secretariat procedure for export objections (Annex I, art. 11) and adaptation of Res. 241/2017, 360/2021 and 175/2023 (art. 28) (unconfirmed).
• Update of royalty valuation Decrees 860/1996 and 861/1996 for unconventional concessions (Annex I, art. 46).
• Energy Secretariat rules on the conventional crude share for Decree 59/2026 (art. 2) (unconfirmed).
• Declaration of Gas Resource Availability (Law 24.076, art. 3 bis) (unconfirmed).
• BCRA adaptation of points 3.4.4.6 and 3.17 after the repeal of Decree 277/2022 (unconfirmed).
• Regulation of the cold zone surcharge collection by ARCA (Law 25.565, art. 75, as replaced) (unconfirmed).
• Legal status of extensions of concessions granted before Law 27.742 (section 4).

FAQ

1. Who grants oil and gas rights in Vaca Muerta? The province where the deposit lies. Since Law 26.197 provinces administer the deposits in their territory and act as grantors under Law 17.319 (Law 26.197, art. 2; Law 17.319, arts. 1 and 4). The national State grants offshore rights beyond 12 nautical miles and transport rights for interprovincial or export pipelines.

2. Is the royalty 12%? It was under Law 27.007 and still is for many concessions granted or extended under that regime. Since the Bases Law, new concessions pay the rate awarded in the tender, where bidders bid "15% + X" and X may be negative. The grantor may reduce any royalty to 5% (Law 17.319, arts. 47 and 59).

3. How long does an unconventional concession last? 35 years from the grant, which a tender may vary by up to 10 years (art. 35). A conversion from conventional gives 35 years from the request, for requests filed until 31 December 2028 (art. 27 bis).

4. Can I export freely? Yes, subject to non objection. You notify the Energy Secretariat; it can object only within 30 business days and only on listed supply security grounds. Unobjected exports are firm (Law 17.319, art. 6; Decree 1057/2024, Annex I, arts. 16, 19, 22 and 23). LNG has its own 120 business day route with firm rights for up to 30 years.

5. Can the government cap domestic oil or gas prices? The national Executive may not intervene or fix domestic prices for hydrocarbons (art. 6). Regulated gas tariffs to end users and Plan Gas.Ar contracts still involve state pricing decisions for the volumes in the plan (DNU 892/2020 as amended; DNU 26/2026).

6. Is Decree 929/2013 still available? No. Law 27.828 repealed it on 13 October 2026, together with arts. 19 to 22 of Law 27.007. Projects already approved keep their benefits until the concession expires, is forfeited or the project is substantially breached (Law 27.828, art. 10; Decree 929/2013, art. 9).

7. Can an upstream project use RIGI? Offshore projects and, since Decree 105/2026, new onshore developments in areas without significant development, yes. Upstream work in existing onshore areas qualifies only as gas production for LNG export (item 4); otherwise it is not on the list. Midstream, processing, refining, petrochemicals and LNG qualify (Decree 749/2024, Annex, art. 3(n)(viii)).

8. Does RIGI protect me against royalty increases? Not expressly. RIGI freezes national taxes and the local taxes of adhering provinces (Law 27.742, arts. 202 and 225); royalties are set by the concession and the Hydrocarbons Law (unconfirmed).

9. Must I bring export dollars into Argentina? Yes, under the general rules: chapter 27 exports within 30 calendar days of shipment and 20 business days of collection (BCRA, points 7.1.2.1 and 7.1.1). RIGI vehicles get partial and then full release (Law 27.742, art. 198).

10. Do I need a provincial environmental permit before drilling? Yes. National law requires an environmental impact assessment and declaration before any significantly polluting activity, public consultation and environmental insurance (Law 25.675, arts. 11, 12, 20 and 22). The procedure is provincial (unconfirmed).

11. Can a landowner stop my operations? No, if you post adequate security for possible damage; disputes on compensation go to court or to zonal amounts set by the Executive (Law 17.319, arts. 66 and 100).

12. What happens when my concession expires? It must be retendered; the new winner may have to pay you for unrecovered investments if it wants to use the existing wells (art. 47 bis). Wells and fixed production installations revert to the State free of charge (art. 37).

Primary sources

• Constitution, art. 124
• Law 17.319, updated text
• Infoleg list of norms amending Law 17.319
• Law 27.007
• Law 27.742, arts. 1, 101 to 228
• Decree 1057/2024 and Annexes I to III
• Law 26.197
• Law 26.741, updated text
• Decree 1277/2012
• DNU 70/2023, arts. 171 to 177
• Decree 590/2026
• Law 27.828
• Decree 929/2013
• Infoleg list of norms amending Decree 929/2013
• Res. SE 26/2023
• Res. SE 125/2024
• Decree 277/2022
• Law 24.076, ordered text 2025
• DNU 892/2020, updated text
• DNU 730/2022
• Infoleg list of norms amending DNU 892/2020
• Res. SE 606/2025
• DNU 26/2026
• Res. SE 23/2026
• Res. SE 119/2026 and Annex I
• DNU 580/2026
• Decree 698/2025
• Law 27.541, art. 52
• Decree 488/2020, updated text
• Decree 59/2026
• Decree 749/2024 and Annex, arts. 3(n), 29, 38, 69
• Decree 105/2026
• ARCA, "Impuesto a las Ganancias Personas Jurídicas, Escala 2026"
• Decree 513/2025, Annex II (BK list, Decree 557/2023 Annex III)
• Decree 1140/2024, statistics fee
• Law 27.429, Fiscal Consensus 2017, Annex I note 1 and clause III(j)
• Law 27.687, Fiscal Consensus 2021
• BCRA, "Exterior y Cambios" ordered text to 14 September 2026, points 3.4.4.5, 3.4.4.6, 3.5.4, 3.17, 7.1.1, 7.1.2.1
• Law 25.675, arts. 11 to 13 and 20 to 22

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