Argentina: 'Country of Eternal Promise and Second Chances'

摘要

I read the words ofthis headline in a local paper in Buenos Aires on my way to Neuquen to celebrate the official inauguration of the first Shell-operated Early Production Facility in Vaca Muerta. These words have since stuck with me, as I can personally identify with them. My father was stationed in Argentina as a Shell seismologist in the early 1960's, during which time I attended my first years of elementary school there. Childhood memories of visiting a seismic field camp, playing soccer on dusty street corners in General Roca near Shell's field office and raising the Argentine flag every morning at school have left me with a sense of belonging for this special country. Its potential is undeniable, but opinions have been, and probably will remain, divided on how to realize it. A combination of stamina and faith will be required, not unlike the traits of true explorers.