EL7.AI
StocksMedium•21 October 2026•
3 min read

GeoPark wins Vaca Muerta exploration block with $95 million commitment

Key Facts

1The committed cost is about $95 million, including the entry bonus.
2The block adds about 26,900 gross acres, including about 24,200 net acres attributable to GeoPark.
3The company will pay a one-time entry bonus of $60.5 million to Neuquén province.
4GeoPark will operate the block with a 90% working interest, while GyP retains the remaining stake.
5The company estimates gross unrisked resource potential at about 200 million barrels of oil equivalent, subject to successful technical appraisal.

GeoPark announced it had been awarded the Corralera Noreste exploration block in Argentina, with commitments of about $95 million, tripling its acreage in Vaca Muerta. The company said in its statement that the block adds about 26,900 gross acres, including about 24,200 net acres attributable to GeoPark. The committed cost includes a block entry bonus. The bonus amounts to $60.5 million, payable once to Neuquén province. GeoPark will operate the block with a 90% working interest, while GyP retains the remaining stake.

Under the award terms announced by GeoPark, the block carries a 12% royalty. The initial exploration commitment includes drilling and hydraulically fracturing two horizontal wells. Extended testing will follow to assess productivity and resource quality. The company estimates gross unrisked resource potential at about 200 million barrels of oil equivalent, subject to successful technical appraisal. It also estimates potential peak gross production at about 40,000–50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, conditional on successful appraisal and development.

The award followed a stage in which the company said "GeoPark's bid received the highest provisional ranking for the Corralera Noreste block." The expansion follows its earlier acquisition in Vaca Muerta, which closed on 16 October 2025 and gave the company control of the acquired assets, according to its annual report. The purchase price for those assets was $115 million, subject to customary price adjustments, according to the transaction closing statement. When announcing its earlier entry into the area, the company had targeted production from the acquired assets of about 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2028. In its operational update for the third quarter of 2026, GeoPark said its average gross production in Argentina reached 2,108 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 50.6% from 1,400 barrels in the second quarter. It added that current gross production at the Loma Jarillosa Este field exceeded 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day at the time of the update.

The next step in the award process is for GeoPark and GyP to sign the partnership agreement, according to the company's statement. The agreement will then be submitted to the provincial executive authority for approval. Declaring a commercial discovery and meeting the requirements would allow the granting of a 35-year unconventional exploitation concession. For its operations in Argentina, the company listed the start of crude oil deliveries by pipeline to third-party processing facilities among its upcoming operational steps. GeoPark plans to announce its quarterly financial results on 3 November 2026 after the market closes.