Downstream history
Downstream is everything that happens after the well and the pipeline: refining crude, turning it into gasoline, diesel, lubricants and petrochemicals, and selling it. Argentine refineries are more than a hundred years old and are now adapting to Vaca Muerta's light crude.
1906the Campana refinery, the oldest in operation, starts processing crude
~530 thousand bbl/dof crude processed by the country's refineries (July 2025)
5major refineries: La Plata, Luján de Cuyo, Dock Sud, Campana and Bahía Blanca
Timeline
Tap a milestone to see the detail.
Laws and policiesCompaniesInfrastructureTechnology
- Campana RefineryCompañía Nacional de Aceites starts processing crude for kerosene and lubricants.See more →
- La Plata RefineryYPF opens in Ensenada what will become the country's largest refinery.See more →
- Dock Sud Refinery (Shell)Shell opens its refinery in Avellaneda, with 1,000 tons of crude per day.See more →
- Luján de Cuyo RefineryYPF processes Cuyo Basin crude in Mendoza.See more →
- Privatization and sale of refineriesYPF sells refineries and adjusts refining to domestic diesel demand.See more →
- Biofuels lawMandatory blending of biodiesel into diesel and bioethanol into gasoline.See more →
- Bahía Blanca goes to Puma EnergyPetrobras sells the refinery and its service stations to Trafigura.See more →
- Refining Vaca Muerta crudeRefineries invest to process light crude and produce low-sulfur fuels.See more →
What it means for a supplier
- Refinery turnarounds bring hundreds of contractors together over a few weeks: mechanical construction, cleaning, inspection, scaffolding, boilermaking and insulation.
- Investments to process Vaca Muerta crude and produce low-sulfur fuels require engineering, pressure equipment and electromechanical construction.
- See the maintenance and turnaround categories in Categories.
Fuentes
Updated as of October 9, 2026. Anything to correct or add? Write to us.