Vaca Muerta: an opportunity for the development of Argentina

At an event organized by LA NACION, officials, business leaders and badysts from the region badyzed the present and future of the operation.

A tragic story in terms of

energy

, despite being rich. The economist Ricardo Arriazu set out this paradox that characterizes Argentina when it presented a report on the possible impact of Vaca Muerta's development on the economy of our country. That's what happened at the event that took the name "Vaca Muerta, a new opportunity" and which took place at
THE NATION. The proposal was to badyze the current production scenario and the set of challenges presented.

Arriazu, who heads Arriazu Macrobadysts, presented his special report, produced with the support of Arcor, Delta, Sullair, ST Group, Eduardo Lomanto, Fernando Pesci and Gonzalo Piñero. The economist said: "We are seeing a problem of lack of consensus on energy policies, which we have changed over the course of history." In a table showing, with data on the evolution of supply and demand of primary energy in Argentina, two periods of net positive balance could be identified: from 1982 to 1985 and from 1990 to 2010. " If we add everything we import and export, we have been net exporters, "he said. However, today only "we have less than eight years of reserves". In this context, Vaca Muerta is of great importance: "The potential of the deposit is huge, it is said that it is equivalent to 10 times the GDP." Another way to see it is that it is three times the total capital stock of Argentina, said Arriazu. .

However, the economist warned that "having resources does not mean that you are doing well economically". For example, he cited two different cases: Norway and Angola. And he stressed the need to work "bottlenecks", especially in terms of the infrastructure needed to ensure competitiveness.

"The future of Vaca Muerta is linked to the future of Argentina, and if we can continue to develop it, it will be a new sector generating foreign exchange and foreign exchange. exports, "added Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez, president of YPF. For that, his two teammates, Sean Rooney, said it was essential "to bring more technologies and suppliers to increase production".

Meanwhile, Juan Martín Bulgheroni, vice president of upstream operations at Pan American Energy (PAE), emphasized the importance of exports: "You need to generate export markets to develop Vaca Muerta as it stands. must, otherwise it will grow mid-term and the necessary costs will not be achieved. "

In the same vein, Gastón Remy, CEO of Vista Oil & Gas, said that the cost of production "declines, with efficiency and optimization" and that "the fight, the fight, is for the capital".

Carlos Ormachea, president of Tecpetrol, the oil company of the Techint group, discussed the conflict with the government in its resolution 46 of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, referring to gas subsidies. "When the interpretation of these incentives is changed, we have a significant impact because it strikes us and deprives us of an income we expected to have," he said.

The Secretary of Energy, Gustavo Lopetegui, listened attentively. He replied: "I admire Tecpetrol and the Techint group, but the government's decision is not to change a comma or an interpretation." A few days later, the Ministry of Finance officially rejected an administrative appeal filed by the company.

From the public sphere, the new re-elected governor of Neuquén, Omar Gutiérrez, also declared present. "The best thing that could happen to Vaca Muerta was that I won, it was important to remove the electoral variable for five years," he said.

The former Secretary of Hydrocarbons, José Luis Sureda, was also at the meeting. former Energy Secretary Daniel Montamat and G & G Energy Consultants Director Daniel Gerold. The three coincided by saying that "Vaca Muerta needs an investment superior to any ideological sign". The electoral race should not change the plans. "We need to adopt an exportable value-added model, in which the Vaca Muera dollars are used to develop our full potential," said Montamat.

About what happened with the controversial resolution 46, Sureda said that "the costs will put even more pressure on the Argentines". For Gerold, the development of the farm will vary depending on the benefits. "We have had a great development in gas, we will now have it in oil.This development is not due to the quality of the rock, but to the intellectual capacity of Argentina to to gain capital, we are competing with the United States, "he said.

The development of human resources, the competitiveness of the project and the legal framework were the other challenges of Vaca Muerta discussed at the meeting, in an integrated panel by Cecilia Giordano, CEO of Mercer; Diego García, partner of Bain & Company, and Ricardo Beller, partner of Marval, O & # 39; Farrell & Mairal.