Argentina’s Vaca Muerta is booming as the key shale province outside the United States has seen record oil and near-record natural gas production in recent months. But outside the shale patch, total public consumption and investments have declined year to date, and consumer spending has dropped, too. Argentina’s President Javier Milei and his government expect the rest of the country to catch up with the Vaca Muerta boom, but little progress has been made so far. After a slow start earlier this decade, Vaca Muerta is now booming. Natural gas production rose by 5.4% in May 2026 from April and 11% from a year earlier.