The Texas-based giant said it would drill five wells at the La Invernada and Bajo del Choique blocks in Argentina's Neuquen province.
It will also build an associated pipeline and production facility, the company said in an earnings release.
ExxonMobil has a position of 900,000 net acres in Neuquen province, the heart of the promising Vaca Muerta.
Local authorities said in December that a plan was approved for ExxonMobil to spend $225 million on the programme, investments that could lead to full-scale development on the supermajor's holdings in the Neuquen basin.
XTO,
