President Javier Milei used his address at the Argentina Oil & Gas Expo 2026 in Neuquén to argue that regulatory and institutional changes introduced since he took office have transformed the country's energy trade balance — from deficits of up to 5,000 million dollars annually under previous governments to a surplus now exceeding 10,000 million dollars in the energy sector.
Speaking before industry operators, service companies, and oil workers, Milei also noted that Argentina set a monthly export record on the day of the address, surpassing 10,000 million dollars across all sectors. He acknowledged Neuquén Governor Rolo Figueroa, YPF President Horacio Marín, and Ernesto López Anadón, president of the Argentine Oil and Gas Institute, which organised the event.
He noted that Neuquén alone produces more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day.
On Vaca Muerta, Milei said the formation had operated at reduced capacity for a decade under what he characterised as price suppression, currency controls, and export prohibitions imposed by previous administrations — a policy mix he attributed to those governments' preference for subsidised tariffs over production incentives. Argentina holds the second-largest shale gas reserves in the world and the fourth-largest shale oil reserves, he said, yet was importing liquefied natural gas every winter under those conditions.
Milei contrasted the current energy surplus with a hypothetical scenario under the prior model, arguing that, combined with a five-percentage-point fiscal deficit and 25,000 million dollars in debt maturities — which he said his government has already closed — Argentina would have needed to seek 60,000 million dollars in external financing while starting with an energy trade balance between 20,000 million and 25,000 million dollars in the red. Under those conditions, he said, the country would have faced hyperinflation and GDP contractions of around 10 to 15 percent.
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