The government of Neuquén—Argentina’s top oil and gas producing province and home to the country’s huge shale play Vaca Muerta—is implementing a detailed plan to eliminate barriers to hydrocarbon development, Governor Omar Gutierrez said at an Inter-American Dialogue panel discussion. This includes facilitating equipment imports by removing customs tariffs, gradually eliminating consumer subsidies for natural gas, and signing a new labor agreement between the provincial government and labor unions.
Argentina’s economic crisis and the fiscal belt-tightening it demands have led to gradual cuts to wholesale electricity and natural gas subsidies for consumers and a liberalization of energy prices over the course of Mauricio Macri’s administration. This has helped make Argentina more attractive as a destination for energy investment despite its economic tumult, said Argentine Secretary of Energy Gustavo Lopetegui at an event organized by the Inter-American Dialogue on March 14.