Argentina's Neuquen province hit a record for daily oil production in February, aided by increased activity in the Vaca Muerta shale formation, the local government said on March 22.

Crude oil production reached 381,570 bbl/d in February, up 17.6% from the year earlier and 1.8% compared to the previous month.

In the first two months of the year, production increased by 20.3% from the same period of 2023.

Vaca Muerta holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserve and fourth-largest shale oil reserve.

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Gas output rose 8.6% year on year in February to 89.4 million cubic meters of gas per day.

"It should be noted that unconventional oil extraction represented 93% of Neuquen's total production in February, while 86% of gas production was from the same origin," authorities said in a statement.

Argentina is seeking to attract millionaire investments to reverse the deficit in its energy trade balance and become a global supplier of hydrocarbons through projects currently under discussion to export LNG.