Perspectives on Business and Economics, Vol. 39, 2021 80 Introduction Oil and gas reserves in Vaca Muerta, an area in the southwest of Argentina, hold promise for economic security and growth for Argentina. The country has been in an economic crisis and has been dealing with surges in inflation and large sovereign and private debt for decades, but the discovery of the shale oil and gas reserves in Vaca Muerta in 2011 has the potential to help Argentina recover and secure its economic future. In 2019, former president Mauricio Macri said, “This province will transform us into a world power,” when speaking to citizens of Neuquén, a province located in the Patagonia region of Argentina (Goñi, 2019). However, the economic viability of shale oil and gas fracking is slowly losing its potential in the face of decreasing clean energy costs. At the same time, oil and gas extraction comes with large environmental costs. The fracking process also has taken a toll on the health of the Mapuche indigenous tribe, workers, and local citizens who live near the extraction wells. The agricultural land of the Neuquén Basin within Vaca Muerta gradually is being occupied by extraction wells; thus, farmers are losing land formerly used to grow crops. With all the potential economic, environmental, and health and social risks at play, oil and gas extraction may not be the longed-for panacea. Argentina should step back and examine the past decade to determine the viability of the project, just as some of the private investors have done. Will oil and gas extraction cause more issues than it is worth? Should legislation be passed to strictly regulate fracking to protect the environment, the economy, and the people? Is the risk truly worth the investment of billions of dollars? Should those living in the area have their concerns acknowledged? This article examines a plethora of the benefits and repercussions of unconventional fracking and other aspects of oil and gas extraction in Vaca Muerta. ARGENTINA’S VACA MUERTA: BLESSING OR CURSE? Joseph E. Saba Many politicians, oil and gas companies, and citizens of Argentina see the oil and gas extraction of Vaca Muerta, a shale oil and gas reserve, as a panacea to the economic crisis Argentina is experiencing. While that might be a plausible solution, it likely will only exacerbate the economic crisis and create new issues if not properly utilized. Currently, Argentine citizens are suffering on economic, environmental, social, and medical fronts. Either the project needs to be abandoned, or these issues need to be addressed and rectified if Argentina has any hope of escaping the current economic climate.
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