Womble Bond Dickinson Advises TotalEnergies on $500m Sale of Oil and Gas Blocks in Argentina

Strategic disposal to majority state-owned YPF sees TotalEnergies divest 45% stake in the Vaca Muerta region – the world’s second-largest unconventional gas reserve

Womble Bond Dickinson has advised TotalEnergies on the strategic disposal of its 45% operated interest in two unconventional oil and gas blocks in the Vaca Muerta region of Argentina (Rincón La Ceniza and La Escalonada) by its subsidiary, Total Austral, to Argentine energy company YPF S.A..

The transaction, valued at $500m, closed on September 29, 2025.

The Womble Bond Dickinson team was led in London by Colin Graham, Carl Powlson, Scarlett Hanks and Sarah Deckers, with José Luis Vittor, Francisco Balduzzi, Analilia Gomez and Ian Beckelman leading in the US.

TotalEnergies' legal team was led by Vincent Bastien, Pierre Monteil, Gabriela Rosello and Léonore de Mullewie.

TotalEnergies was supported by Marval, O'Farrell Mairal in Buenos Aires (Francisco Macías, María Ines Brandt, Soledad Riera and Maria Virginia Canzonieri, oil & gas regulatory and tax) and Gide Loyrette Nouel in Paris (Elizabeth Gautier, anti-trust).

YPF S.A. were advised by Milbank in New York (Francisco Núñez and Ross Shepard) and Pérez Alati, Grondona, Benites & Arntsen (Francisco Javier Romano, Manuel Benites and Luis Barry) in Buenos Aires. The YPF S.A. legal team was led by Fernando Gomez Zanou and Pilar Rodriguez Salto

YPF S.A. will operate these concessions with the partners Gas y Petroleo de Neuquen (10%) and O&G Developments LTD S.A (45%), owned by Shell.

This transaction allows TotalEnergies to unlock value from part of its strong Argentine portfolio, while focusing on the development of core assets in the Neuquén Basin and in the offshore of Tierra del Fuego.

Partner in the corporate team at Womble Bond Dickinson in London, Colin Graham said:

“We are pleased to have assisted TotalEnergies with this significant divestment. The complexity of the deal highlights our firm’s global strength in upstream M&A matters, the bench-strength of our trans-Atlantic Lat Am practice and our ability to advise clients on their most strategic transactions, leveraging our international network.”

José Luis Vittor, Chair of Womble’s Latin America Practice and member of the firm’s Energy Core Team, said: 

“The level of expertise, experience, and seniority of our Latin America Practice and Energy teams in Houston enabled us to review different competitive offers through the bidding process and work seamlessly with the different business and legal groups in New York, Houston, London, Paris, and Buenos Aires which caused a successful result for our client.”