Peter Thiel has bought a $76 million stake in Vista, one of the biggest operators in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation. The purchase follows a meeting with President Javier Milei and comes as Vaca Muerta crude output hits record highs, pushing Argentina past Colombia to become Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer.
Peter Thiel, the Palantir chairman and hedge fund owner, has bought a 1% stake in Vista worth $76 million through American depositary shares, according to a securities filing cited by Reuters. Vista is one of the biggest companies operating in the world's second-largest shale crude oil and gas deposit.
The purchase came four months after a meeting between Thiel and Argentina's president, Javier Milei; per Milei, the two discussed economic policy and his opposition to wealth taxes. Milei is also eyeing data centers in Patagonia as a new revenue source, and reliable oil and gas supply would help attract investors to the region.
Vaca Muerta output hits a record
Vista produces about 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the Vaca Muerta, with more than $6.5 billion invested in the play so far. Big Oil supermajors have also built a presence there, positioning themselves for what many see as the next major shale boom.
Production across the formation backs that view. Crude output hit an all-time high of 887,227 barrels per day in May, up 19% from a year earlier. Natural gas output, meanwhile, rose to 5.5 billion cubic feet a day, just shy of the record set in July 2025.
Argentina climbs Latin America's oil ranks
Vaca Muerta has helped Argentina overtake Colombia to become Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer, a rank that could climb further as the government prioritizes energy infrastructure. Shale already accounts for 70.6% of the country's oil output and 69.8% of its gas output.
Analysts expect the formation's oil output to reach between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels a day by 2030. Rystad Energy's head of oil and gas research, Jai Singh, said earlier this year that for companies that missed the first wave, entering the basin now is "the knock on the door they have been waiting for".
The boom has yet to lift Argentina's broader economy, but some observers believe it will eventually start benefiting the economy.
Source: Oilprice.com
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