(Bloomberg) – Shares in Vista Energy SAB, Argentina’s top oil exporter, jumped in New York on Monday after tech billionaire Peter Thiel reported a sizeable stake in the company.
Vista’s American depositary receipts rose 5.6% to $72.16 on Monday, the highest level in two months. The company’s Mexican stock climbed 5.4% to 1,227 pesos per share.
Thiel Macro LLC reported owning almost 1.2 million shares in Vista at the end of the second quarter, then worth about $76 million. The June 30 value of the fund’s position in Vista was second only to Amazon.com Inc. and Vista was the only non-U.S. company listed in its holdings, according to an Aug. 14 U.S. regulatory filing.
Thiel’s new position in Vista—which is spearheading development of Argentina’s vast shale oil resources—comes as he bought a home in Buenos Aires and has spent time in Argentina this year. That’s prompted speculation about whether he has broader plans in the country. In April, he met with President Javier Milei, a fellow libertarian, who’s implementing a free-market experiment in an economy that was highly regulated for two decades.
Under Milei, Argentina has removed controls on oil prices and exports, and regained access to global financial markets, jump-starting growth in its Vaca Muerta shale patch in Patagonia, where combined crude and natural gas production has already surpassed 1 MMbpd. The boom is starting to transform Argentina’s economy.
After big-ticket acquisitions this year and last, Vista produces about 160,000 bpd, most of which it exports. It has plans to further increase output, and has a stake in Argentina’s signature shale oil export project VMOS, a pipeline and port that are being built and will start operations next year.
American depositary receipts for Argentina’s biggest shale producer, state-run YPF SA, rose 5.3%. Ezequiel Fernandez, an equity analyst at Balanz Capital in Buenos Aires, said news of Thiel’s stake in Vista might drive a broader Argentine shale rally. US-traded shares in peers TGS SA and Pampa Energia SA also rose at least 0.7% each.
“I wouldn’t expect a structural or long-lasting impact” on the shares, Fernandez said. “After all, Thiel isn’t a recognized oil investor.”
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