new leader charts moderate course

摘要

Argentina's new president, Alberto Fernandez, is steering the shale-producing country down a centre lane, signalling to investors that he will not be upstaged by his populist vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Fernandez conspicuously ignored oil and gas in his 10 December inaugural speech, focusing instead on tackling poverty rather than IMF debt repayments, which he has promised to restructure. His early remarks suggest that energy will not be an immediate priority for his administration, which faces high infation and soaring debt. Argentina's shale oil and gas production has climbed sharply over the past year, but drilling has slowed in recent months as oil companies wait to see how the Fernandez administration approaches regulation and pricing.