Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale basin is the only place in the world, outside of North America, where oil companies are producing commercial amounts of shale oil. That's oil trapped inside rock that can sometimes be released by fracking. Moreover, Andes Energia (AEN) is reportedly the only company listed in London that owns land there: 213,000 net acres near the northern edges of the basin.
It's still a relatively young play but major oil groups such as ExxonMobil, Petrobras, YPF and Chevron have been successfully drilling there for some time. If Andes can prove that its speculative northern acreage yields similar flow rates to those in the central part of the basin, then it could have a very valuable asset on its hands. After all, a deal between YPF and Chevron recently valued some of the best land at $12,000 (£7,200) an acre.