Marval Completes USD $500 Million Vaca Muerta Deal for Total Energies

Marval, O’Farrell Mairal assisted Total Energies and Total Austral in the process of the sale of a 45% interest in two oil and gas blocks located in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation to YPF.

The deal, signed on August 6, 2025, and subject to certain conditions, involved a competitive process whereby the assets related to the exploration, development and exploitation of two blocks, Rincón La Ceniza and La Escalonada, located in the Neuquén Basin, a major unconventional gas-producing region in Argentina, were transferred through the sale of all the shares of Vaca Muerta Inversiones S.A.U. Following the transaction, Gas y Petróleo de Neuquén and O&G Developments (a Shell subsidiary) own the remaining share in the oil blocks, with a 10% and 45% interest, respectively.

TotalEnergies was advised by its in-house counsel Gabriela Rosello and Pierre Monteil and a multidisciplinary team of professionals from Marval, O’Farrell Mairal composed by Pablo Artagaveytia, Francisco Macias, Soledad Riera, María Inés Brandt, Francisco Abeal, and Virginia Canzonieri. Also, International counsel included Gide Loyrette Nouel LLP (Antoine Tezenas du Montcel and Matteo Matteucci) and Womble Bond Dickinson (Colin Graham and Jose Luis Vittor).

On YPF’s side, in-house counsel Fernando Gomez Zanou and Pilar Rodriguez Salto acted as legal advisors.

marval.com