Argentine court orders government to disclose Chevron deal terms

Argentina's top court Tuesday ordered the government to publish details of a deal state oil company YPF struck with US giant Chevron to exploit shale reserves in the South American country.

The ruling followed allegations of secret clauses in the 2013 deal linked to the exploitation of the Lomo Campana shale deposit, which YPF says is the biggest non-conventional oil reserve outside North America.

The Supreme Court of Justice said in a statement it "ordered YPF to make public the clauses of the investment project agreement signed with the Chevron Corporation."

The court said YPF had previously refused to respond to its demands for information about the likely environmental impact of operations under the deal.

YPF said in a statement it would comply with the court order.

It said Chevron has invested more than $2.5 billion in Lomo Campana, part of the vast Vaca Muerta shale field in southwestern Argentina. YPF owns a third of Vaca Muerta overall.