BUENOS AIRES, March 22 (Reuters) - Argentina's Neuquen province hit a record for daily oil production in February, aided by increased activity in the Vaca Muerta shale formation, the local government said on Friday.
Crude oil production reached 381,570 barrels per day in February, up 17.6% from the year earlier and 1.8% compared to the previous month.
In the first two months of the year, production increased by 20.3% from the same period of 2023.
Vaca Muerta holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserve and fourth-largest shale oil reserve.
Gas output rose 8.6% year on year in February to 89.4 million cubic meters of gas per day.
"It should be noted that unconventional oil extraction represented 93% of Neuquen's total production in February, while 86% of gas production was from the same origin," authorities said in a statement.
Argentina is seeking to attract millionaire investments to reverse the deficit in its energy trade balance and become a global supplier of hydrocarbons through projects currently under discussion to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Editing by Mark Porter)
