The norm, in detail
Neuquén sets Vaca Muerta rules: 12% royalty + bonuses (the 18% floor stayed an announcement), GyP a forced partner and monitoring that can take the block
Cross-cutting royalties policy (Decree 276/2025 and related 2025; YPF LNG agreement ratified by Law 3566, Official Gazette 07/08/2026)
in executionPROVINCIAL
Energy and natural resources
What changed and who it applies to
What changed
Neuquén takes advantage of the royalty-ceiling loosening enabled by the Ley Bases (27.742) to build its own rent-capture model on the new Vaca Muerta concessions, with five pieces.(1) Rate: it raises the royalty floor from 12% to 18% for the new unconventional concessions (CENCH), per the governor's office announcement of September 2025 ('operators will have to pay an 18% royalty floor, versus the 12% that applied previously') — although reading the instruments issued since then shows something else: in the three decrees read in their primary source (276/25, 277/25 and 1270/25) the rate implemented was 12%, and the extra capture was charged via compensatory bonuses (at Puesto Silva Oeste: USD 5,278,500 against a declared provincial 'expectation' of 15%, plus an Infrastructure Bonus of USD 4 M). The 18% floor still appears in no administrative act. In parallel, for the tender round of 15 areas via GyP (award scheduled 08/19) an 'à la carte royalties' scheme was enabled with a competitive bid in a band of 13% to 17% depending on block productivity, proximity to the hub and product type.(2) Equity stake: it requires the state company Gas y Petróleo del Neuquén (GyP) to keep a minimum of 10% in the unconventional concessions; the scheme began to apply in the transfer of the La Escalonada and Rincón de la Ceniza areas from TotalEnergies to YPF.(3) Binding triennial monitoring: the provincial State reviews every three years, on a binding basis (previously only 'indicative'), the development plan committed by the oil companies in three variables —investment, production and activity level—; if the operator does not justify performance below what was committed, the province can reverse up to 50% of the evaluated block, and another 50% of the remainder every three years if the non-fulfillment persists.(4) In-kind royalties: Governor Figueroa is pushing to collect gas and oil royalties in kind and have GyP market that gas as a trader, to supply Hidenesa, expand networks and substitute the (more expensive) LPG consumption in the interior.(5) ANTI-TRANSFER-PRICING REFERENCE PRICE FOR LNG: the Neuquén-YPF agreement for the LNG megaproject (ratified by Law 3566, in force since 07/08/2026) sets tiered royalties of 7.5% / 10% / 12% according to the Asian JKM index (below USD 16/MMBtu; between 16 and 20; above 20), with 30-year fiscal stability, a triennial threshold-review mechanism (if the ratio between the JKM and the domestic industrial gas price — Base Ratio 4.5 — rises or falls by 15% or more, the Base Values shift USD 2 in the opposite direction, cumulatively across periods) and, as the calculation base for royalties on CENCH gas, the sale price of gas for the industry destination (firm, Neuquén basin) published by the national Energy Secretariat (Res. 1/2018), expressly excluding volumes and prices destined for LNG — the anti-transfer-pricing lock that stops integrated producers from settling royalties on under-declared intra-group prices. The agreement also includes an infrastructure investment commitment of USD 175 million and the obligation to notify the final investment decision (FID) and its financing within 24 months of the CENCH coming into force. prob · Jul 8, 2026 ↗
In force
Capture model applying since March 2025 in the new CENCH (Decrees 0275-0277/2025 of 03/07/2025 and subsequent transfers: 12% rate + compensatory bonuses + GyP stake; the '18% floor' announced in Sept-2025 still has no administrative act). LNG agreement: ratified by Law 3566, in force since its publication in the Official Gazette (No. 4593, 07/08/2026); its special regime operates from the FID/financing notice under art. 1.2 of the Agreement. prob · Jul 8, 2026 ↗
Who it affects
Operators and concessionaires of unconventional Vaca Muerta areas (YPF, TotalEnergies and others), which face a denser rent-capture model (12% rate + compensatory bonuses + state partner GyP in the new CENCH — the 18% floor remained an announcement) and the risk of losing up to half the block if they do not meet the investment/production plan. For the satellite-services ecosystem the effect is second-order but relevant: the binding triennial monitoring turns into an obligation executing the committed well plan (you cannot sit on the area), which sustains demand for drilling, fracking, OCTG, sand, water and logistics over time; and GyP's growing role as partner and gas trader opens the door to suppliers contracting with the provincial state company. prob · Jul 8, 2026 ↗
The norm
Cross-cutting policy carried out through several instruments. Enabling framework: the hydrocarbons chapter of the national Ley Bases 27.742 (2024), which loosened the royalty regime. Provincial instruments identified: provincial Decreto 0276/2025 (Mar 7, 2025) and the related decrees 0275/2025 and 0277/2025, which grant new CENCH (unconventional hydrocarbon production concessions) to YPF (Narambuena, Aguada de la Arena, La Angostura Sur I and II areas); the 18% + GyP 10% scheme applies to the transfer of La Escalonada and Rincón de la Ceniza. The binding three-year monitoring and the 50% reversion apply to the new CENCH. The reference price for LNG and the JKM-tiered royalties are in the Neuquén-YPF agreement ratified by provincial Ley 3566 (passed Jun 25, 2026, enacted by DECTO-2026-920 on Jul 6, 2026, published with the Acta as an Annex in BO 4593 of Jul 8, 2026). On the '18% floor' and the 'GyP 10%', which remained an announcement and were never instrumented: there is NO decree setting them as general policy — in the 4 decrees read at the primary source (0276/25, 0277/25, 1226/25, 1270/25) the rate actually written in was 12% (the 18% that appears in Dto 277/25 is the IRR, not the royalty), with compensating bonuses and GyP 5%; the 18%/10% remains a political announcement from September 2025, applied concession by concession below that number. prob · Jul 8, 2026 ↗
Our reading
Neuquén read the moment well: with the Ley Bases loosening the royalty ceiling, instead of raffling off the rent it announced an 18% floor —although in the instruments read the real capture was charged as compensatory bonuses over a 12% rate—, sat in as a partner (GyP, 5-10% depending on the case) and reserved the power to take up to half the block from whoever does not meet the investment plan. In exchange it offers what long-term capital needs —30-year fiscal stability and clear rules for LNG, with royalties tied to the Asian gas price. For the service supplier the signal is clear: whoever keeps an area has to drill, and that is firm demand for wells, sand, water and logistics for years. thesis
Where it lands, province by province1
Neuquén A provincial rent-capture model: a royalty implemented at 12% + compensatory bonuses (the announced 18% floor still has no administrative act; the GyP round tenders in a 13%-17% band), a mandatory GyP 10% equity stake in CENCH, a binding triennial review with reversal of up to 50% of the block for non-fulfillment, in-kind royalties (gas), a 7.5%-12% reference-price band by JKM for LNG export. favorable thesis
The other rules on this subject28
The State reorders the trunk gas pipelines and forces firm transportation contracts to be redrawnRes. SE 66/2026 (Official Gazette, Mar 13, 2026) + Res. ENARGAS 409/2026in execution
Hydrocarbons: the prior domestic-offer step for exports is goneSE Res. 166/2026 (Official Gazette, Jul 22, 2026)in force
The Comahue returns to private hands: 4 dams awarded in concessionRes. 2124/2025, Ministry of Economy (Official Gazette Dec 30, 2025)in force
End of segmentation: energy subsidies are targeted at those who need themDecree 943/2025 (Official Gazette, Jan 2, 2026)in force
Ignacio Aredez· Chief analyst
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How to read the seals → verif primary source · prob primary source pending · unconf not sufficiently backed · estim our own calculation · thesis our reading