Indigenous rights, FPIC, land rights, forced displacement At the heart of this project lies the dispossession, environmental harm, adverse health impacts and denial of cultural identity for local communities, including those of the Indigenous Mapuche people. The Indigenous Mapuche people is denied constitutional rights to participate in the administration of their natural resources by officials who deny their ancestral claim on the land. In 2024, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal found that oil companies in Vaca Muerta occupied Mapuche territory without the legally required Free, Prior and Informed Consent, causing their displacement. Mapuche communities have launched campaigns and protests in resistance to the projects in Vaca Muerta. 

Exclusion from consultation & decision-making, Human Rights Defenders In 2024, two Mapuche leaders were temporarily detained for questioning by authorities over their public opposition to extractive activities. Mapuche populations have also been repressed when demanding their legal status. Additionally, some opponents to the construction of facilities on Argentina’s Atlantic coast were not allowed to participate in a public hearing and at least one of them was threatened. In 2019, a German journalist was detained by the police and mistreated after taking photographs in a waste disposal area of hydrocarbon activity.

Clean, healthy and sustainable environment According to spatial data, “more than 3,000 fracking wells pose a contamination risk to local water sources, farms and population centres, threatening public health and livelihoods.” Recently approved fracking wells jeopardise drinking and irrigation water for more than half a million people. These wells are just meters away from the Mari Menuco dam, which provides water to 75% of the city of Neuquén’s population and irrigates fruit plantations (a traditional agricultural activity in the region). 

Loss of livelihoods The exponential growth of shale oil and gas extraction in Vaca Muerta has severe negative impacts on local livelihoods. Food and housing prices in the area have risen in response to oil and gas workers' higher salaries and spending capacity, which do not represent those of the local population’s majority. The population of the city of Añelo grew 65.7%, from 10,786 in 2010 to more than 17,876 residents in 2022, forcing families with few resources to the outskirts of town. This influx has also led to increased instances of crime, sexual assault cases, and trafficking of women and drugs in the area. Beyond the Vaca Muerta formation, the export infrastructure under development on Argentina’s Atlantic coast threatens the livelihoods of fishermen and tourism workers.

Massive greenhouse gas emissions  Burning Vaca Muerta’s shale gas (308 trillion cubic feet, releasing an estimated 16.9 billion metric tonnes of CO2) and shale oil (16 billion barrels, releasing an estimated 7 billion metric tonnes of CO2) would devour 30% of the remaining global carbon budget to keep global warming below the 1.5C target. 

Continuing to invest in fossil fuels in Vaca Muerta also leads to carbon lock-in and stranded assets; it delays investments in renewable energy; and is potentially breaching both domestic and international law.

The operations in Vaca Muerta are also causing air pollution, releasing toxic volatile organic compounds as well as methane. Methane is not only a health hazard, but it is also about 80 times more powerful than CO2 in capturing solar radiation, significantly contributing to climate change. Emissions released by extracting and burning the record amounts of shale oil and gas stored in Vaca Muerta will further aggravate the already extreme climate crisis.

Pollution and related health hazards According to a 2016 categorical assessment of peer-reviewed scientific literature, hydraulic fracking has negative impacts on water, soil and air quality and on public health. This extraction method is necessary to develop Vaca Muerta’s unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs, but it makes use of several dangerous chemicals that might be released during the process. Leaks of these chemicals have been reported at the Vaca Muerta Shale Formation, causing pollution and health hazards such as cancer, cardiovascular issues, liver and kidney issues and negative impacts on reproduction and development, amongst others. There is also a lack of transparency regarding pollution in Vaca Muerta, mainly because of insufficient legislation and insufficient law enforcement, which go hand in hand with a private sector that withholds information. The Constitutional right to a “healthful environment”, recognised by the Argentinian Constitution, is clearly being violated.

Oil spills Despite a lack of publicly accessible official records, there have been reports of numerous oil spills since the beginning of exploration in Vaca Muerta. In 2021, there was a serious spill caused by a failure of one of Oldelval’s pipelines, with 2 to 3 million litres (more than 20,000 barrels) contaminating an area close to Catriel, in the province of Rio Negro. The most probable cause of the spill was a lack of maintenance and insufficient infrastructure renewal. No works have been executed to update the infrastructure.

Toward the end of 2022, there was a spill during the drilling of a well in a field then owned by YPF and Equinor, and in 2023 there was a spill that originated in a YPF-owned pipeline that polluted private property. In late 2023 and 2024, there were spills for which the German company Oiltanking was responsible. These spills were several kilometres wide in a nature reserve, resulting in criminal complaints against the company.

The development of oil and gas terminals in the San Matias Gulf also brings with it a high risk of oil spills in the Península Valdés UNESCO World Heritage site, where 10 protected conservation areas could be adversely affected.

Poor waste management The waste generated by fracking in Vaca Muerta includes highly toxic materials, such as heavy metals and radioactive waste, and has been the subject of legal complaints due to instances of soil contamination. The amount of fracking waste (considered hazardous) originating in Vaca Muerta has been growing at a faster pace than the capacity of treatment plants – between 2023 and 2024, fracking waste grew 35.2%. Oil and gas companies and environmental officials do not publish waste information, despite reports of illegal dumping of toxic waste or disposal without prior treatment. 

Water usage High quantities of water are used to fracture rock formations in order to release oil and gas. In the Vaca Muerta area, these fracking wells are close to communities and risk contamination of rivers, schools and irrigation systems. Despite the large quantities of water used, more than 32 million litres per well per year, oil and gas companies are charged less for the water they use compared to what regular citizens pay.  Information about oil and gas water usage and impacts is not made publicly available. 

Induced seismicity Although there have been several reports, studies, media coverage, and even a dedicated observatory tracking unprecedented seismic activity induced by fracking in the area of Vaca Muerta, the relative data is not made available by the government, as authorities do not adequately track or disclose seismic activity. Induced seismicity risks damaging buildings that are not designed to withstand seismic activity. Old and abandoned oil wells and hydroelectric dams in or near the area are also at risk, as seismic activity can lead to further pollution and risk of floods. 

Procedural and legal concerns From the onset, the contracts and procedures that enabled the exploration of Vaca Muerta were marred by procedural and legal disputes. These include allegations of secret clauses between YPF and Chevron that enabled tax and regulatory evasion through offshore companies, and an ongoing legal dispute over the 2012 re-nationalisation of YPF that saw Argentina being fined USD 16.1 billion in damages by a US court. 

Civil Society organisations, including Greenpeace Argentina, went to court in 2022 to challenge the government of Rio Negro province for changing legislation that mandates environmental pollution protection. This amendment enables the construction of the Vaca Muerta  Sur Oil Pipeline without public consultation. 

One of the main providers of sand – a crucial input for fracking – for operations in Vaca Muerta has been charged with environmental damage, as well as money laundering and fraud against the public administration.

A CNN investigation points towards irregularities in the bidding process of the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline (formerly called Nestor Kirchner Pipeline) that favoured Grupo Techint, and that concerned more than USD 500 million. The pipeline carries gas extracted in Vaca Muerta, connecting to another pipeline in Buenos Aires province. The case was swiftly archived.