Argentina’s YPF swings to net loss amid dampened local oil prices

(Reuters) – Argentina’s national oil company YPF swung to a loss in the third-quarter, amid lower local oil prices and higher operating costs, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Net loss in the period hit $137 million, from a $693 million profit the previous year.

The state-run producer’s revenue decreased 15.9% to $4.5 billion during the July-to-September period, it said, citing “a drop in local fuel prices in dollars.”

Operating costs also grew 11% year-on-year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), or core earnings, for the quarter were down 37% to $992 million.

The results come despite the steady uptick in oil and gas production in recent years from western Argentina’s massive Vaca Muerta shale formation, one of the biggest in the world.