National Oil Company Profile: YPF
Highlights
- Oil and gas production in Argentina, including YPF’s, declined from 2005 to 2012 and since then has plateaued. At current production rates and without further discoveries, YPF’s oil reserves will be depleted by 2032.
- YPF is the Latin American national oil company (NOC) most exposed to transition risks. Because of YPF’s production costs, 41 percent of its investment pipeline is unlikely to break even in the moderate energy transition scenario.
- YPF has acknowledged its transition risks and is aiming to reduce its emissions by improving operational efficiency and through exploring low-carbon diversification strategies.
- Despite the Argentinian government’s lack of recognition of the country’s transition risks, YPF has made impact assessments of the climate-related risks to the organisation’s business, strategy and financial planning and aims to reach net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.
See the accompanying guide for definitions of all variables and explanations of the terms used. Sources are referenced with a number in parentheses, e.g., (1), and listed at the end of the profile, together with the reference year. An explanation of the energy transition scenarios used is also at the end of the profile, preceding the references.
This profile was last updated in August 2024.
Key statistics
| Potential emissions from reserves (proved, 1P) (1) | 167 Mt CO₂e |
| Home country income level (2) | Upper-middle income |
| Equitable phase-out responsibility (11) | By 2037 |
| Company transition risk: share of investment that does not break even in the moderate transition scenario (1, 20) | 41% |
| Government revenues from oil and gas at risk in the moderate transition scenario, as share of current oil and gas government revenue (8) | N/A |
| Current share of total government revenue from oil and gas (8) | N/A |
Company governance
YPF is an integrated group engaged in oil and gas exploration, production, refining and transport in addition to petrochemicals and renewable energy. It is majority-owned by the Argentinian government but partly privatized and operates production and exploration in its home market.
YPF’s CEO is Horacio Daniel Marín. The company board consists of 11 directors appointed by the shareholders.
YPF has the structure of a joint stock company listed on two exchanges. However, the government still owns most of the shares, while private shareholders hold 49 percent.
| Founded (5) | 1922 |
| Privatized (5) | Fully privatized in 1999, partially renationalized in 2012 |
| Listed on exchange (5) | NYSE and Buenos Aires Stock Exchange |
| Employment (3) | 25,711 |
| OPEC member country (15) | No |
| International exploration and production operations (1, 5) | No |
| Subsidiaries (5) | 58 subsidiaries in 11 countries |
Ownership
| Government of Argentina | 51.01% |
| Santander Rio Asset Management | 2.99% |
| Invesco Advisers | 0.27% |
| BBVA Asset Management | 0.17% |
| ICBC Investments Argentina | 0.15% |
| Others | 45.41% |
Source: (5)
Environmental, social and governance performance
YPF has environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators broadly in line with the regional and global averages, and a governance score above average. Argentina’s Resource Governance Index score (which measures the transparency and accountability of fossil fuel revenue management, value realisation, and the quality of the wider enabling governance environment) is below the regional average but above the global one.
| Company | Country | ESG score (5) | Environmental score (5) | Social score (5) | Governance score (5) | Country Resource Governance Index score (15) |
| YPF | Argentina | 71 | 63 | 67 | 89 | 57 |
| Ecopetrol | Colombia | 69 | 59 | 75 | 72 | 71 |
| Petrobras | Brazil | 75 | 62 | 90 | 68 | 71 |
| Regional average | 72 | 61 | 77 | 76 | 59 | |
| Global average | 66 | 68 | 66 | 64 | 52 | |
Reserves and production
YPF’s oil and gas production has been steady since 2012. From 2024 onwards, Rystad Energy expects its oil production to decline. except in the expansion transition scenario. Its gas production is expected to increase in the OPEC scenario and stay stable in the moderate scenario. Without new discoveries, YPF’s current oil reserves will last for only eight years, and its gas for 13 years, at current production rates.
Sources: (1, 3, NRGI visualization)
| Refining capacity (bpd) (13, 14) | 317,000 to 319,500 |
| Pipeline capacity (bpd) | N/A |
| Oil reserves of NOC (proved, 1P) (million boe) (1) | 818 |
| Oil reserves of NOC as share of country reserves (1) | 24% |
| Years of oil reserves left at current production (1) | 8 |
| Gas reserves of NOC (million boe) (1) | 914 |
| Gas reserves of NOC as share of country reserves (1) | 32% |
| Years of gas reserves left at current production (1) | 13 |
| NOC share in the country’s total oil production (3) | 39% |
| NOC share in the country’s total gas production (3) | 35% |
| NOC ownership share of the country’s oil reserves (3) | 24% |
Transition and other economic risks
Neither Argentina’s public finances nor its exports are reliant on YPF’s transfers and production.
Despite YPF’s high return on capital, the company has a weak credit rating due to the country’s macroeconomic condition and indebtedness issues. Both Argentina and YPF have extremely low credit ratings.
Economic dependence on fossil fuel revenues and exports
| Indicator | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 |
| NOC transfers to government as share of total fiscal revenue (3, 1) | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Crude oil export revenues as share of country’s export revenues (17, 19) | 2% | 3% |
| Gas export revenues as share of country’s export revenues (17, 19) | 1% | 1% |
Government revenues at risk in the transition
| Share of oil and gas revenue in total government revenue (8) | Government revenues from oil and gas in the moderate transition scenario, as share of current oil and gas government revenue (8) | |
| Argentina | N/A | N/A |
| Suriname | 11% | 1% |
| Colombia | 5% | 83% |
| Regional median | 27% | 70% |
| Global median | 44% | 56% |
Credit ratings
| Fitch (5) | Moody’s (5) | S&P (5) | |
| Argentina | CC | Ca | CCC |
| YPF | CCC– | N/A | CCC |
YPF financial performance
| Company | Country | Liquidity: current ratio (1, 3) | Efficiency and profits: return on capital employed (1, 3) | Indebtedness: leverage (1, 3) |
| YPF | Argentina | 19% | 32% | 45% |
| Petrobras | Brazil | 39% | 13% | 51% |
| Ecopetrol | Colombia | 34% | 20% | 44% |
| Pemex | Mexico | 10% | 17% | 161% |
| Regional median | 22% | 19% | 44% | |
| Global median | 33% | 14% | 30% | |
Investment value at risk in different energy transition scenarios
Sources: (1, 20)
Forty-one percent of YPF’s investment pipeline does not break even in the moderate energy transition scenario. YPF’s investment pipeline is the most exposed in the region.
YPF has acknowledged and is actively managing the financial risks resulting from a possible domestic and/or global energy transition, according to the World Benchmarking Alliance (23).
In response, the NOC has set targets to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions; however, it has not yet set objectives or provided measurable targets related to scope 3 emissions. The company has invested in renewable energy and has 397 MW of solar and wind energy capacity, mostly through its green YPF Luz subsidiary. From 2030 onwards, the company plans to focus on hydrogen using renewable energy (green hydrogen), lithium and “other clean energies” (23). YPF has also sought to reduce its methane venting and flaring, as well as deploying methane emissions detection pilot projects.
Despite YPF’s high exposure to transition risk, the company has not divested from high-cost upstream assets and continues to expand upstream developments even if they are unlikely to break even in the slow transition scenario.
Sources: (12, 13, 14)
Energy security
Argentina is self-sufficient in crude oil but imports substantial quantities of gas and refined products (21). Further, the country has only eight years left of oil reserves at current rates of production. The country’s power system relies heavily on fossil fuels, with only 26 percent of electricity generation coming from renewables (4). YPF runs multiple solar parks through YPF Luz; however, the subsidiary accounts for just 0.2 percent of the company’s revenues.
| Refining throughput of NOC as share of final country consumption of oil products (6) | N/A |
| Years of oil reserves left at current production (1) | 8 |
| Years of gas reserves left at current production (1) | 13 |
| Crude oil and refined oil products imports as share of national consumption of oil products (4) | N/A |
| Share of oil and gas in primary energy consumption of country (4) | 75% |
| Gas imports as share of country supply of gas (4) | 17% |
| Share of electricity production of country from renewables (4) | 26% |
Climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions
YPF’s scope 1 emissions intensity and absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased between 2018 and 2021. However, the NOC still has relatively high scope 1 and 2 emissions per barrel, which it seeks to further reduce through efficiency measures and renewable energy.
| NOC emissions reduction target, scope 3 emissions | N/A |
| NOC emissions reduction target, scope 1 emissions (23) | 30% by 2026 |
| Annual scope 1 emissions of NOC (5) | 9.9 Mt CO₂e |
| Annual scope 2 emissions of NOC (5) | 1.9 Mt CO₂e |
| Annual scope 3 emissions of NOC (3, 5, 9) | 69.1 Mt CO₂e |
| Average GHG emitted before combustion per barrel of oil produced by companies in country (9) | 87 kg CO₂e/boe |
| Average GHG emitted before combustion per boe of gas produced by companies in country (9) | 106 kg CO₂e/boe |
| OGDC member company (10) | Yes |
| NOC net zero target, scope 1 and 2 emissions (5, 23) | 2050 |
| Total potential emissions (scope 1–3) from reserves (1, 9) | 167 Mt CO₂e |
| Equitable phase-out responsibility of the country (11) | 2037 |
Energy transition scenarios
We use four energy transition scenarios:
Fast. We based this scenario on the oil and gas demand estimated in the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, which maps out a transition pathway that would limit global warming to 1.5°C. This assumes large-scale negative emissions enabled by technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
Moderate. We based this scenario on the IEA’s Announced Pledges Scenario, which assumes the full and timely implementation of national energy and climate goals, including net zero emissions targets.
Slow. We based this scenario on the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario, which assumes governments follow their current set of energy and climate policies.
Expansion. We based this scenario on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) scenario, which assumes a continued expansion in demand up to 2045.
Sources
All data are from the latest year available as referenced in the relevant source as of August 2024. For most data this is 2024. Data related to emissions and NOC finances are from 2023 or in some cases 2022. Data on country-level oil and gas reserves and production, the ownership of oil and gas reserves, employment and energy security are from 2022. The Resource Governance Index score is from 2021. If you find an error in this profile, please email noc_profiles@resourcegovernance.org.
- Rystad Energy UCube, 2024 (proprietary data)
- World Bank, 2024
- NOC Database, 2023
- International Energy Agency (IEA), 2024
- S&P Global IQ, 2024 (proprietary data)
- Statistical Review of World Energy, 2024
- Euromonitor, 2023
- Carbon Tracker, 2023
- Fossil Fuel Registry, 2023
- Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), 2024
- An Equitable Phase Out of Fossil Fuel Extraction (Equity Review), 2023
- Facing the Future (NRGI), 2023
- Reuters, 2016
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024
- Resource Governance Index (NRGI), 2021
- OPEC, 2024
- U.N. Comtrade, 2024
- Global Oil & Gas Exit List, 2024
- World Bank, 2024
- Riskier Bets, Smaller Pockets (NRGI), 2023
- Observatory of Economic Complexity, 2023
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