Argentina switches shale focus to gas

摘要

While low global oil prices have slashed rig countsrnaround the world, Argentina is one of the few exceptions.rnThe country had 105 rigs active in May, almost all ofrnthem looking for oil, according to the latest count byrnBaker Hughes. The fleet has been above 100 since Mayrn2014, hitting a peak of 113 in December. In contrast,rnthe worldwide rig count fell 37% to 2,127 in May,rncompared with 3,371 a year earlier.rnOne reason for the resilience of drilling activity inrnArgentina, according to Caldwell Bailey, a senior oilrnand gas consultant at IHS, is that the local market forrnrigs was already tight. “In the good times you didn’trnhave a tidal wave of rigs flowing into westernrnArgentina,” he said.