Argentina strikes deal for energy investment in Vaca Muerta

Argentina says it has struck a deal with labor unions and energy companies aimed at attracting investment to one of the world's biggest unconventional hydrocarbons deposits.

President Mauricio Macri on Tuesday said the agreement will offer a subsidized price for natural gas produced at new wells at the Vaca Muerta shale deposit in southwestern Neuquen province. Macri said the provincial government has also agreed to stabilize taxes as part of the deal.

Argentina's YPF, U.S.-based Chevron and other companies are investing billions in the Vaca Muerta deposit.

A 2013 assessment by the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that the deposit potentially holds 16.2 billion barrels of oil and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.