BANKS DODGY DEALS CAMPAIGNS
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Jobs at BankTrack
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2023-03-17 00:00:00
Briefing: The role of financial institutions in decarbonising the steel sector
2023-03-09 00:00:00
Dutch bank ING supports controversial pipeline to import gas from authoritarian Azerbaijan
2023-02-23 00:00:00
Financial institutions need to address steelmaking’s coal addiction
2023-02-07 00:00:00
What COP15 means for banks: meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework requires protecting Indigenous rights and divesting from harmful industries
2023-03-28 13:43:00
French bank Société Générale withdraws from Rio Grande LNG
2023-03-20 08:50:41
Who dares to finance Eni and Exxon’s dangerous Rovuma gas plans in Mozambique?
2023-03-14 14:59:00
New ING policy could spark bank shift away from financing oil and gas infrastructure
2023-02-24 13:46:14
Pego power station conversion plans halted
Connect
2022-11-22 00:00:00
Banking on Thin Ice: Two years in the heat
2022-11-17 00:00:00
BankTrack Global Human Rights Benchmark 2022
2022-10-21 00:00:00
Burning forests in the name of clean energy? How banks are failing to exclude the harmful wood biomass industry from finance
2022-06-28 00:00:00
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP): Finance Risk Update No. 3
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
See all publications
Sections
Banks Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate
Banks and Human Rights
Banks and Nature
Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA
Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine
Tracking the Equator Principles
Tracking the PRBs
Banks and steel
Find a Better Bank
Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances History BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter Login
Home › Dodgy Deals ›
Dodgy Deal
Vaca Muerta Shale BasinArgentina

Project – Active

This profile is actively maintained
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

climate@banktrack.org

Last update: 2022-10-17 00:00:00
The Vaca Muerta Shale Basin is located in the Neuquén Basin in Patagonia, Argentina. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (NASA Earth Observatory).

Project – Active

This profile is actively maintained
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

climate@banktrack.org

Last update: 2022-10-17 00:00:00
Why this profile?

Why this profile?

The Vaca Muerta Shale Basin megaproject threatens both the rights of the Mapuche Indigenous community and the chances of a safe climate for humanity. If Argentina’s shale gas reserves are fully exploited, they will account for 11.4% of the world’s remaining 1.5°C carbon budget. Nearly all of Argentina’s shale gas and oil are located in the Neuquén Basin.

What must happen

Banks must not finance new oil and gas extraction projects in the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin. They must phase out their support for all existing fossil fuel projects and companies in the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin and beyond, on a timeline consistent with Paris Climate Agreement alignment.

About
Sectors Oil and Gas Extraction , LNG Terminal, Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil, Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
Location
Status
Planning
Design
Agreement
Construction
Operation
Closure
Decommission
Website https://www.ypf.com/desafiovacamuerta/Paginas/vaca-muerta.html

The Vaca Muerta Shale Basin is located in Argentina’s Neuquén Basin, Patagonia. Covering 30,000 square kilometres, it is the largest known shale play outside North America. This oil and gas megaproject of pipelines and LNG terminals represents 43% of Argentina's total oil production and 60% of its gas production. Fossil fuels have been extracted here for decades, but Argentina nationalised Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) in 2012 to drastically increase domestic production. YPF then brought oil and gas majors such as Chevron, Shell and TotalEnergies to Vaca Muerta. Argentina also issued a 35-year transport concession to state energy company Integración Energética Sociedad Anónima (IEASA), to oversee Vaca Muerta’s USD 3.5 billion Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline. Argentinian energy independence aside, by the late 2010s increasing attention was being paid to Vaca Muerta’s export potential.

Impacts

Impact on human rights and communities

Indigenous rights violations are at the heart of this project, because the Indigenous Mapuche community has not given free, prior and informed consent for Vaca Muerta Shale Basin activities to take place on their lands. The Mapuche's cultural identity is being denied with the purpose of refusing community legal rights and their ancestral lands are already irreversibly damaged.

Intimidation tactics have included a 2013 arson attack that destroyed an observation facility built by the Mapuche to track extraction activity. The attack took place during the same year that Chevron began fracking in the disputed Loma Campana oil field: In 2015, the Argentinian government acknowledged part of Loma Campana belonged to the Mapuche.

Public health violations have occurred during the removal of fracking waste. A 2018 lawsuit brought by the Mapuche against ExxonMobil, Total and Pan American Energy accused them of dumping toxic waste too close to the town of Añelo, Indigenous lands, as well as the region's principal river. By not being treated in accordance with the relevant laws, this waste contains high levels of elements that pose risks to human reproduction and respiration.

A general degradation of local life has accompanied the escalation of Vaca Muerta extraction work. Food and house prices in the area have risen, which are tied to oil and gas workers' salaries that do not represent the local majority. The population of Añelo city grew from 2,500 to more than 6,000 people in less than three years, forcing families with little resources to the outskirts of towns. This influx has also led to the trafficking of women and drugs into the area.


Impact on climate

Massive greenhouse gas emissions are set to grow at Vaca Muerta, backed by the government in its 2019 National Energy Plan: In order to make exports viable, Vaca Muerta extraction must double between 2022 and 2027, to 500,000 barrels of oil every day. The burning of Argentina’s total gas reserves alone would eat up 11.4% of the world’s carbon budget. Blowing this budget violates the Paris Climate Agreement’s core aim of limiting the average global temperature rise to 1.5C. Furthermore, methane leaks often occur during Vaca Muerta’s operations. Methane heats the planet at a rate that is 86 times greater than CO2 across a 20-year period.


Impact on nature and environment

The degradation of water, soil and air quality and public health are all outcomes of hydraulic fracking, according to a 2016 categorical assessment of peer-reviewed scientific literature. This extraction method is necessary to develop Vaca Muerta’s unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, but it makes use of several dangerous chemicals that are released during the process. Leaks of these chemicals have been reported at Vaca Muerta Shale Basin, causing pollution.

Oil spills occur often in Vaca Muerta. An average of three oil spills per day reportedly took place between January and October 2018. For example, a YPF-Schlumberger partnership operation was behind a Vaca Muerta shale well blow-out on 19th October that contaminated 85 hectares of land with oil and drilling mud; in November 2018, Argentinian authorities suspended the operator's licence.

Financiers

Banks finance Vaca Muerta operations in various ways, but mostly by financing the companies that are active in the region. This finance is made available through corporate loans, underwriting services or equity investments. Another way in which banks provide finance for Vaca Muerta operations is by working with companies on specific projects in the area. See below for more details on which banks are financing companies that have operations in the Vaca Muerta basin.

Institution type
Finance type
Year
Companies

A long list of oil and gas companies are active in the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin. Argentina’s state energy company YPF is the area’s main actor, being involved in most projects either independently or in collaboration with others. Together, these companies extract 30% of Argentina’s oil and 45% of its gas annually across more than 1,000 drilling sites.

BP

United Kingdom
Website

Chevron

United States
Website

ConocoPhillips

United States
Website
No longer active. ConocoPhillips has sold its Argentine interests to Vista Oil & Gas.

Equinor

Norway
Profile
Website
Has a 50% stake in YPF-operated Bajo del Toro in the north of Vaca Muerta.

ExxonMobil

United States
Profile
Website

Gas y Petroleo del Neuquén

Argentina
Website

Pampa Energía

Argentina
Website

Pan American Energy

Argentina
Website

Petrobas Energia

Argentina
Website

Petronas

Malaysia
Website

Pluspetrol

Argentina
Website

Shell

United Kingdom
Profile
Website
Owns a 30% non-operated interest with YPF owning a 40% interest and continuing as operator.

Tecpetrol

Argentina
Website

TotalEnergies

France
Profile
Website

Vista Oil & Gas

Mexico
Website
Owns 50% of the assets

Wintershall

Netherlands
Website
Owns 50% of the assets

YPF

Argentina
Website
No companies
Maps

Map: Existing and planned oil pipelines, exploration and production blocks in Patagonia. 

News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Shell Argentina together with partners PAE and Pluspetrol launch key oil pipeline for Vaca Muerta

2023-02-14 | BN Americas
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina accelerates Vaca Muerta megaproject gas compression plans, launches tender

Argentine state energy company Energía Argentina has put out to tender another contract associated with the first phase of the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline megaproject.
2022-08-23
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

BankTrack hosts webinars on the 2022 Banking on Climate Chaos report

Webinar programme organized along with Reclaim Finance, Amazon Watch and 350 Latin America featured frontline community activists from Uganda to Ecuador
2022-06-30 | Savon van den Berk
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Chevron granted shale exploration concession in Argentina's Vaca Muerta

The Argentine province of Neuquen granted U.S. oil company Chevron a new concession for shale exploitation in the Vaca Muerta formation, with a pilot stage investment of $78.7 million, the local government said in a statement on Monday
2022-04-10 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Distressed Argentina Oil Firm Leads Emerging-Market Bonds

Only 14 months ago Argentina's YPF SA was a nightmare for investors caught out by a $6 billion distressed debt restructuring. Now, in a swift turnaround, the 100-year-old state-run oil company is producing the best fixed-income returns in all of emerging markets
2022-03-31 | Bloomberg Quint
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Vaca Muerta: a failed opportunity that will cost Argentina US$5 billion this year alone

When trying to explain why we fail as a country, look no further than the Vaca Muerta debacle
2022-03-16 | Buenos Aires Times
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Backed by Government, Argentina E&Ps Upping Natural Gas Production

Amid soaring prices for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a tight global energy market, Argentina’s efforts to increase natural gas output appear to be paying off
2022-03-15 | Natural Gas Intelligence
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina's YPF sees fourth-quarter profit dip by more than half

Argentine state oil company YPF on Thursday posted a $247 million net profit in the fourth quarter 2021, a 54% drop compared to the year-ago period
2022-03-03 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Snapshot: Top 10 oil producers in Argentina’s Neuquina basin

2022-03-02 | bnamericas
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina launches Vaca Muerta pipeline megaproject tender

Argentina state energy company IEASA launched a tendering process for the acquisition of 656km of pipes for the Vaca Muerta natural gas pipeline megaproject
2022-02-23 | Bnamericas
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Banks called upon to take action to protect biodiversity ahead of UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming

Civil society organizations urge banks to adopt stringent “No Go” policy for biodiversity rich areas
2021-05-26 | Nijmegen | BankTrack
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina's Vaca Muerta fracking activity rises to record high in March 2021

2021-04-05 | S&P Global
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Banking on Climate Chaos 2021: World’s 60 largest banks have poured USD 3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since Paris Agreement

Even amidst the global economic downturn, fossil fuel financing numbers were higher in 2020 than 2016
2021-03-24 | Nijmegen | BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Five years lost - How the finance industry is blowing the Paris carbon budget

2020-12-10 | Paris | urgewald, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), Friends of the Earth US, Rainforest Action Network, Reclaim Finance, ReCommon
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Nación le baja el pulgar al gasoducto de Vaca Muerta

Article in Spanish: Vaca Muerta's gas pipeline has been suspended indefinitely
2020-07-11 | Rio Negro
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina's fracking activity in Vaca Muerta slowed to zero in April

2020-05-05 | Buenos Aires | S&P Global
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina’s Failing Fracking Experiment

2020-04-29 | NACLA
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Oil crash kills Vaca Muerta’s potential as the next shale hotspot

2020-04-14 | www.worldoil.com
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Fracking’s false hope: Why fossil fuels won’t help to repay Argentina’s national debt

The development of fracking in Vaca Muerta in northern Patagonia, Argentina, is being presented as a solution to Argentina’s debt crisis by the IMF. However, increasing fossil fuel exports will require infrastructure lock-in, involving increased foreign investment and fiscal efforts by the state, which are not fully captured in the IMF’s debt sustainability analysis
2020-04-07 | Bretton Woods Project
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Banking on Climate Change – Fossil Fuel Finance Report Card 2020

New report reveals global banks funneled USD 2.7 trillion into fossil fuels Since Paris Climate Agreement, with financing on the rise each year 
2020-03-18 | Nijmegen | BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina's energy bust spawns 'ghost town' in prized Vaca Muerta

2020-02-19 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

New legislation for Vaca Muerta on way, Nielsen confirms

2020-01-25 | Buenos Aires Times
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Vaca Muerta: Fracking leaves heavy footprint in Patagonia

2019-12-13 | Buenos Aires Times
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Indigenous Mapuche pay high price for Argentina's fracking dream

2019-10-14 | The Guardian
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Vaca Muerta, the new Argentinian tragedy

2019-10-05 | Cítrica News
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina's government reinforces security in Vaca Muerta shale oil zone

2019-09-17 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Political turmoil, price freeze cast shadow on Argentina's Vaca Muerta

2019-09-16 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

IEEFA report: Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Patagonia fracking plan is financially risky, fiscally perilous

2019-03-22 | IEEFA
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina economy needs fast return to energy self-sufficiency

2018-09-24 | Financial Times
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Argentina: Total sanctions the development of Vaca Muerta shale resources and increases its participation

2017-04-27 | TotalEnergies press release
Resources
Documents
Images
Videos
Links
2022-07-29 00:00:00

Vaca Muerta Basin: An Oil & Gas Trap

IMF and global capital markets neglect the risk of ballooning Argentina’s debt and liability problem
NGO document
2022-07-29 00:00:00 | Profundo, 350.org Argentina
2021-04-30 00:00:00

Watershed implications of shale oil and gas production in Vaca Muerta, Argentina

Other document
2021-04-30 00:00:00 | Stockholm Environment institute
2020-12-10 00:00:00

Five Years Lost

How Finance is Blowing the Paris Carbon Budget
NGO document
2020-12-10 00:00:00 | FARN
2017-12-31 00:00:00

Vaca Muerta Megaproject

A fracking carbon bomb in Patagonia
NGO document
2017-12-31 00:00:00 | EJES, Observatorio Petrolero Sur, Taller Ecologista
2019-03-22 00:00:00

Financial Risks Cloud Development of Argentina's Vaca Muerta Oil and Gas Reserves

Other document
2019-03-22 00:00:00 | IEEFA

Vaca Muerta projects overview

2022-08-08
Vaca Muerta projects overview - February 2017
February 2017

Socioeconomic implications of shale gas extraction in Vaca Muerta (Central Washington University seminar)

2022-08-04 16:58:34

Case Study BOCC report 2021: Fracking in Vaca Muerta

2022-04-19 16:54:45

How fracking is taking its toll on Argentina's indigenous people

2020-02-18 17:29:38

Q&A with Lucila Crexell, National Senator for the Province of Neuquén, Argentina

Rolling Stone | Vaca Muerta: Caught between the promise of economic salvation and environmental destruction (Spanish)

Essay featuring imagery by South American photojournalist Pablo E. Piovano

Observatorio Petroleo Sur (OPSUR)

This local group is fighting for an alternative energy matrix under a framework of environmental and social justice.

Enlace por la Justicia Energética y Socioambiental (EJES)

This socio-environmental and energy justice alliance between OPSUR and Taller Ecologista raises awareness of Vaca Muerta.

350 Latin America Vaca Muerta report

Vaca Muerta Basin: An Oil & Gas Trap (Report)

IMF and global capital markets neglect the risk of ballooning Argentina’s debt and liability problem

Updates

2022

2022-10-12 00:00:00 | Argentina accelerates Vaca Muerta megaproject gas compression plans, launches tender

Argentine state energy company Energía Argentina has put out to tender another contract associated with the first phase of the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline megaproject.

2022-07-29 00:00:00 | Extraction activity reaches all-time high in Vaca Muerta

Argentina has seen a high increase in oil and gas production its Vaca Muerta Shale Basin. According to research by Rystad Energy, this new peak is part of a wider South American trend that could see the region producing more than 300,000 barrels per day by early 2023.

2022-03-10 00:00:00 | Activity levels rising in Vaca Muerta

Global energy data analytics and SaaS technology company Enverus anticipate that activity levels at the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin will keep climbing. YPF planned to spend USD 1.5 billion in 2021, PAE (Pan American Energy) will invest approximately USD 150 million into infrastructure by mid-2023 , while Shell intends to spend USD 1 billion to drill 100 wells during 2022.

2022-02-24 00:00:00 | Argentina seeks bids to build first phase of Vaca Muerta gas pipeline

The Argentinian government has launched tenders to acquire 656 kilometres of pipes for the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline’s first stage, the construction of which is forecast for completion in approximately 18 months. By winter 2023, this USD 1.6 billion project is expected to add 24 million cubic metres of gas per day to the country's network.

When complete, the full pipeline project will have added a 1,430-kilometre-long pipeline between the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin and Uruguiana in Brazil. From there, another 600-kilometre-long pipeline to the city of Porto Alegre is planned, facilitating distribution to southern Brazil.

2021

2021-09-20 00:00:00 | ConocoPhillips ceases interests in Vaca Muerta Shale Basin

The US energy producer ConocoPhillips has sold all of its interests in Argentina to Vista Oil & Gas. A local oil producer, Vista has acquired a 50% stake in two oil concessions in the Vaca Muerta field and all of ConocoPhilips Argentina’s capital stock. Neuquén’s regional government granted these concessions, which expire in 2050.

Vista chairman and CEO Miguel Galuccio: “This is a unique opportunity to strengthen our position as one of the leading producers in Vaca Muerta. We are not only adding core assets to our existing portfolio, further enhancing our growth potential and shareholder value, but will also contribute our know-how in efficient developments, as well as safe and sustainable operations.”

2021-02-26 00:00:00 | USD 45 billion in 23rd agreement between Argentina and IMF

The International Monetary Fund has approved a new loan programme for Argentina, granting the country more time to repay a debt of USD 45 billion. The agreement includes a series of fiscal and monetary targets designed to help stabilise Argentina’s economy and widen access to international financing. If Argentina’s congress ratifies the deal, debt repayments will recommence. Full repayment is scheduled for 2034.

Vaca Muerta development plans will reduce Argentina’s gas imports, but they also require huge investment; the existing infrastructure is only suitable for some oil expansion, but not natural gas.

2020

2020-09-02 00:00:00 | Redeployment of rigs underway at Vaca Muerta

Argentina’s state-backed energy company, YPF, will be redeploying 46 rigs in the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin between October 2020 and February 2021, following a plunge in oil and natural gas production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019

2019-09-17 00:00:00 | Vaca Muerta granted military police protection

Argentina’s Ministry of Security has placed the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin under the jurisdiction of the military police force, in response to growing union, environmental and Indigenous protests in the area.

2013

2013-07-17 00:00:00 | YPF and Chevron sign Vaca Muerta deal worth USD 1.24 billion

In a move intended to open up the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin to global oil and gas markets, YPF has secured its first major international investment deal since Argentina’s government took control of the energy company in 2012. Chevron’s USD 1.24 billion investment in the region is designed to be the first of many, in a bid to reverse Argentina’s declining domestic oil and gas production.

Send feedback on this profile
Sections
Banks Policies Dodgy Deals Campaigns
Our campaigns
Banks and Climate Banks and Human Rights Banks and Nature Banks and Pandemics
Our projects
Tracking the NZBA Banks and Putin's war in Ukraine Tracking the Equator Principles Tracking the PRBs Banks and steel Find a Better Bank Banks and the OECD Guidelines
Media
News Publications
Fossil Banks No Thanks StopEACOP Forests & Finance Banks & Biodiversity Drop JBS Bank of Coal Don't Buy into Occupation
BankTrack
About BankTrack Visit us Organisation Our team Our board Guiding principles Team up with us Jobs at BankTrack Our annual reports Funding and finances History BankTrack in the media Our privacy policy Donate
Successes Contact BankTrack
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
Donate Mailing list Facebook Twitter
©2022 BankTrack
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted