Argentina Announces 1st Shale Discovery In Chubut Province

Argentina's state-controlled energy company YPF has made the first shale oil and gas discovery in the Patagonian province of Chubut, according to a company presentation seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The discovery, in the San Jorge basin, is located more than 1,000 kilometers southeast of the Vaca Muerta mega field in Neuquen Province.

It was the first discovery at El Trebol field in the D-129 shale formation in Chubut.

Vaca Muerta, Spanish for "dead cow," field is thought to be one of the world's biggest shale reserves and could double Argentina's energy output within a decade.

The country needs foreign investment to develop the formation and has signed one major Vaca Muerta deal, a $1.24 billion joint venture with U.S.-based Chevron Corp.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. energy major Exxon Mobil Corp said it has made its first discovery of non-conventional gas and crude oil in Vaca Muerta.

(Reporting by Alejandro Lifschitz, writing by Hugh Bronstein; editing by Andrew Hay)