The massive Vaca Muerta shale patch has reached a historic milestone: its daily production of natural gas is now at 90.96 million cubic metres – three times as much as neighbouring Bolivia’s 24.33 million.
The fact symbolises a deep transformation in South America’s energy matrix.
For the past two decades, Argentina has depended on Bolivian exports to meet supply. However, the acceleration of output in Patagonia has shifted the balance: whereas in 2014, Bolivia produced 60 million cubic metres and Vaca Muerta merely contributed 600,000, by 2022 it was 36.6 million as against 42.1, in favour of the latter.
Industry experts point out that Bolivia is in a state of continual decline, with falls of around four million cubic metres per year, given the lack of new exploration and fresh reserves.
Álvaro Ríos Roca, former Bolivian government minister, warned recently that by 2028 the country will need to import gas to cover its own demand.
By contrast, Argentina is not only self-sufficient, it has already started exporting gas from Vaca Muerta to Brazil via the Bolivian grid, marking a strategic turn in the regional energy map.
The key challenge now is infrastructure. Pipeline and transport costs will define whether Argentine gas can compete in Brazil and Bolivia. With record-breaking oil production also in production – 811,200 daily barrels in July, the highest since 1999– we are seeing Vaca Muerta consolidate itself as a main driver for the nation and source of foreign income.
Stretching across Neuquén and into the provinces of Mendoza, Río Negro and La Pampa, the Vaca Muerta formation contains the second-largest shale gas reserves in the world and the fourth-largest unconventional oil reserves.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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