Shell has confirmed it will invest $300 million to develop a shale oil and gas reserve in southern Argentina, executives said Friday.

Argentina oil company YPF said in a statement it would partner with the Anglo-Dutch company Shell to exploit the huge Vaca Muerta reserve.

Exploration of the field has yielded "excellent results," it quoted Shell Argentina boss Teofilo Lacroze as saying.

US and French firms are among the other international companies working on exploiting the 30,000 square kilometer (12,000 square mile) reserve.

source: AFP