US oil magnate Harold Hamm is partnering with Swiss trading house Mercuria to spearhead a multibillion-dollar drilling campaign in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale basin. Hamm’s Continental Resources is acquiring a 50% stake in Phoenix Global Resources, aiming to quadruple oil output to 100,000 barrels per day by 2031. The companies plan to invest $4 billion over five years, positioning Phoenix as one of the largest private producers in the region. This marks Hamm’s third Argentina deal since November, following acquisitions from Pluspetrol and Pan American Energy.

Hamm, an influential backer of Donald Trump, praised Argentina’s president Javier Milei for his pro-business reforms and deregulation agenda, which have rekindled international interest in the country’s oil sector. Milei’s policies, including tax incentives and greater regulatory certainty, have encouraged major investments after years of political uncertainty.

The joint venture will hold 163,000 net acres across six blocks in Vaca Muerta. Mercuria recently acquired Raízen’s Argentine refinery business for $1.4 billion and is also developing a natural gas power plant in West Texas. Analysts note that Vaca Muerta, three times the size of the Permian Basin, offers massive potential, with Argentina’s oil production expected to hit a record 1 million barrels per day this month.