Long haul for Argentinean shale oil

摘要

Argentina is stepping up production of unconventional oil and natural gas, but it could take ten or more years for the output to compensate for a decline in conventional production that started a decade ago. Marcelo Martinez Mosquera, a director of the country's sixth-largest oil and gas producer Tecpetrol, estimates that a return to the hydrocarbon self-sufficiency lost between 1998 and 2004 could take until 2025 or 2030. "Argentina is at a point of declination in practically all of its conventional fields," he said. "The declination is very steep." He said the decline poses a challenge for investing in shale and tight plays, as it reduces revenue from the sale of conventional oil and gas making it difficult to fund new investments. "Either you have a huge amount of capital for investment, or the declination is going to beat you," he said.