Argentine Oil Day and the challenge of a sustainable energy future

He December 13th remembers the discovery of the first oil well in 1907 Comodoro Rivadavia. The discovery, made in the search for water to supply the region, revealed an input that has been of great importance to our industry ever since.

Today, more than 100 years later, the development of the hydrocarbon industry remains critical to the 21st century and fundamental to the energy transition we are undergoing worldwide.

In about 30 years, the world will be largely powered by renewable energy. Therefore, now is the time to have a thriving and exporting industry with energy sovereignty. The benefits to the economy are obvious, as selling oil abroad brings the country the dollars it so desperately needs, and it also has to take care of internal supplies.

YPF turns 103 and is about to star in Back to the Future Part II

Since the discovery of the first well until today, the country has intensified exploitation Hydrocarbons. Although the use of oil was initially minimal, its strategic value for growth was already evident. José Figueroa Alcorta, Argentine president between 1906 and 1910, as soon as he learned of the discovery, ordered a fiscal reserve to protect the new resources, a decision that marked a before and after in the country’s energy development.

“The neglect of conventional deposits in provinces such as Mendoza, Tierra del Fuego, Salta, Tucumán and others represents an obstacle.”

A few years later, in 1922, became General Enrique Mosconi promoted the creation of Fiscal Oil Fields (YPF)one of Argentina’s largest companies, the first vertically integrated oil company dedicated to the production, refining and marketing of hydrocarbons. President Hipólito Yrigoyen endorsed the state-owned company as a key axis in protecting the country’s energy resources.

Another recent milestone in oil history was the discovery of Vaca Muerta, the 30,000 km2 basin that has become the center of unconventional hydrocarbon production.

Its unconventional gas and oil reserves provide a unique opportunity to achieve excellent production results and attract large investments.

Challenges for Argentine oil

However, despite the long history of hydrocarbon production in Argentina, our country has not yet found a strategic direction for the development of the sector. There is potential that we are not exploiting because we do not have a clear policy on energy sovereignty. Without a regulatory framework to accompany growth, it will not be possible to derive the maximum benefit from our natural resources.

“There is potential that we are not exploiting because we do not have a clear policy on energy sovereignty.”

Argentina is currently in a privileged position in terms of energy resources. We have what it takes to become major oil suppliers, but there is still a lot of work to do if we are to realize our potential. For example, the infrastructure is not sufficient to supply many inland regions with energy and jobs.

Meanwhile, the neglect of conventional insoles in provinces like Mendoza, Tierra del Fuego, Salta, Tucumanrepresents, among other things, an overarching obstacle to the goal of energy sovereignty.

Our country can do much more in energy exports, but to achieve this it should deepen offshore projects and improve investment conditions in this sector, as well as guarantee quality jobs and high salaries above inflation. Without these conditions, Argentina’s energy future will continue to suffer from the usual shortcomings: lack of planning and bottlenecks.

*Secretary General of the Argentine Federation of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Trade Unions (FaSiPeGyBio)