Billionaire Peter Thiel buys 1% stake in Argentine Vaca Muerta oil firm, filing shows

Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir, has increased his stake in Argentina's Vista, a major oil company in the country's Vaca Muerta shale formation, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Thiel's Thiel Macro LLC hedge fund acquired around 1.2 million American Depositary Shares in Vista, valued at approximately $76 million, or 1% of Vista's capital.

The fund's total portfolio is worth $418.7 million, which includes stakes in various companies such as Amazon, American Electric Power, and X-Energy. Vista operates in Vaca Muerta, which is home to the world's second-largest shale gas and fourth-largest oil reserves, situated in Argentina's Patagonia region. The company produces 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily and has invested over $6.5 billion in Argentina.

Earlier this year, Vista increased its investment and production outlook for the Vaca Muerta formation, which is larger than Belgium. President Javier Milei recently discussed economic policies with Thiel, expressing his intention to capitalize on Patagonia's vast open spaces and cold climate for data center projects.