Argentina’s YPF buys Petrobras stake in Puesto Hernandez block

Argentine state-controlled oil company YPF said it acquired the stake it did not already own in a block in the country's western region from Brazilian energy giant Petrobras, EFE reported on February 1.

After purchasing Petrobras' 38.45 percent interest for $40.7 million,YPF said in a statement it now has a 100 percent stake in the Puesto Hernandez block, which straddles the provinces of Neuquen and Mendoza.

Puesto Hernandez, which covers an area of 147 sq. kilometers (56 sq. miles), "produces more than 10,000 barrels per day of medium oil, considered most suitable for Argentina's refineries," YPF said.

YPF, which now becomes the operator of the block under a contract that runs through 2027, said it planned to "accelerate its investment plans to optimize (the block's) potential and send all of its production to the Lujan de Cuyo Industrial Complex in Mendoza."

Copyright: EFE, 2014