Shale drilling at Argentina's Vaca Muerta field has turned the country into a major energy exporter, but communities near the wells say the boom has come at an environmental cost. Residents and local officials describe pollution near drilling sites in Patagonia, even as output keeps climbing.

President Javier Milei said at the opening of the Argentina Oil & Gas Expo that the country's oil production is nearing one million barrels a day. He also defended the incentive regime drawing foreign investors to the sector.

A federal judge in New York has vacated her 2023 ruling that ordered Argentina to pay more than $16 billion over the 2012 expropriation of oil company YPF, closing the case at trial-court level while litigation funder Burford Capital seeks Supreme Court review.