For now, the intention is to start with a first exploratory well \u2013 called Argerich \u2013 300 kilometres from the coastal city of Mar del Plata. On 9 August, the government\u2019s Bolet\u00edn Oficial announced<\/a> the approval of a second environmental impact assessment for the project, made by the companies responsible for the project, Norway\u2019s Equinor and Argentine state-owned YPF. The previous assessment had been revoked by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, following pressure from civil society.<\/p>\n Energy ministry sources told Di\u00e1logo Chino that exploration is expected to begin early next year, and that other projects in the country\u2019s waters will seek to enter into operations at various dates between now and the 2050s.<\/p>\n Offshore oil has begun to develop at an accelerated pace in Latin America, notably in neighbouring Brazil. Aldo Duzdevich, advisor and spokesperson for Argentina\u2019s Secretariat of Energy, told Di\u00e1logo Chino that it is believed that in the country\u2019s deepsea waters \u201cthere could be deposits similar to those found in Brazil, in the pre-salt layer\u201d.<\/p>\n Tapping into Brazil\u2019s Presal, or pre-salt layer, the thick geological formations off the country\u2019s coast that are thought to contain significant oil reserves, has become a regional aspiration since giant hydrocarbon deposits were found close to Rio de Janeiro in 2007. Since that discovery, Brazil has positioned itself among the region\u2019s main offshore hydrocarbon producers, along with Mexico and Venezuela. <\/div>Within the last five years, this cast began to grow, with Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Argentina all accelerating permits and legislation to allow offshore installations in their waters.<\/p>\n To date, the transnational companies with the largest presence in the continent are ExxonMobil, Total Energy, Qatar Petroleum and Shell, as well as Equinor \u2013 the company that has profited the most<\/a> from offshore exploitation of hydrocarbons worldwide.<\/p>\n Most of the tenders bought by these companies began in 2016, with investments increasing in the last two years. Cases such as that of Guyana<\/a>, where ExxonMobil found one of the largest deposits in the region, have encouraged the arrival of new companies and the opening of new tenders.<\/p>\n Although several studies already pointed to the presence of hydrocarbons off the east coast of South America, when large oil and gas deposits were found<\/a> in 2021 off the coast of Namibia, the likelihood of finding such deposits close to Uruguay and Argentina was reaffirmed. The southwestern coast of Africa is known to have a similar pre-salt layer, with the two continents previously connected in the distant past, in a landmass known as Gondwana.<\/p>\n This information was seemingly sufficient to prompt a raft of tender-signing between 2019 and 2021. Thirteen companies invested more than US$724 million<\/a> in the purchase of permits to explore and exploit 18 areas mapped in the northern Argentine Sea and in areas close to the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. But that is only the beginning of the outlay, as operational costs, infrastructure and salaries would later have to be considered, which could double the amount already paid to the Argentine government.<\/p>\n According to a recent study<\/a> by the consulting firm Ecolatina, the companies\u2019 investment during the entire period of exploration and exploitation would not exceed 10% of the potential total profits. The calculations are hypothetical, and the possible profits for the Argentine state are still uncertain. <\/div>For the Argentine government, the prospect of new deposits presents a tantalising opportunity to solve two of its most urgent problems: the lack of dollars in the Central Bank, and the supply of gas to the population.<\/p>\n Although both shallow- and deep-water offshore wells have existed in the country for some time, many of these are now sealed or decommissioned. The former contribute 20% of the country\u2019s gas production, while output from the latter has been minimal. For the government and its need to solve pressing economic issues, this production is massively insufficient.<\/p>\n Countries such as Guyana have opened their doors to offshore oil in a bid to overcome economic crisis, especially in light of the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine. However, environmental groups across the region have denounced the flexibility of regulatory frameworks, which they say can lead to huge negative environmental impacts. These groups include the Guyana Marine Conservation Society, Brazil\u2019s Nem um Po\u00e7o a Mais (lit. not one more well) campaign, and the Argentine organisations Fundaci\u00f3n Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) and the Observatorio Petrolero Sur (OPsur), among others.<\/p>\n Although the frequency of offshore oil spills has decreased<\/a> over the years, concerns around them and their impacts have not. A 2020 study<\/a> by environmental organisation Oceana concluded that there has been no substantial improvement in safety and the prevention of offshore disasters.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is likely to be a higher risk of spills today, as drilling is taking place deeper and further offshore. We\u2019re talking about more drilling with less safety: it\u2019s a perfect recipe for disaster,\u201d said Diane Hoskins, the organisation\u2019s campaigns director, at the time.<\/p>\n A study<\/a> by FARN puts a special focus on Equinor, as its operations span more than 30 countries across all continents, and it has been involved in a number of incidents around the world \u2013 among them, a series of oil spills in Norway between 2006 and 2021. Eight of the 18 tenders that Argentina offered were obtained by the company.<\/p>\n However, according to Fernando Halperin, communications coordinator of the Argentine Institute of Oil & Gas (IAPG), which represents fossil companies in Argentina, the current concern and allegations surrounding offshore companies are unfounded, as the current technical capacity is \u201cmuch more advanced than what they had 10 years ago\u201d.<\/p>\n Halperin highlights how companies have recently put great efforts into developing containment protocols, especially after the Deepwater Horizon disaster<\/a> in the Gulf of Mexico 12 years ago. The explosion and subsequent oil spill had tragic consequences, and the mitigation attempts made by British Petroleum \u2013 the company primarily responsible \u2013 were said to be insufficient, according to the Oceana study.<\/p>\n Latin America has been the site of several catastrophes involving oil exploitation and marine pollution. Most notable are the spills in the Paria Peninsula and the Guarapiche River in Venezuela, and a spill off the Brazilian coast in 2019, with the most recent high-profile case being that at a Repsol refinery<\/a> off the coast of central Peru, at the beginning of this year.<\/p>\n V\u00edctor Quilaqueo, an offshore specialist at OPsur, said that while oil spills are one of the most visible impacts of the activity, there are others that are less highlighted, but just as important. \u201cThere are gigantic emissions from gas leaks, as was the case in the Gulf of Mexico last year,\u201d Quilaqueo said, referring to a 2021 leak in the gulf that led to a massive ocean fire and caught international attention<\/a>. According to a report<\/a> by the Copernicus project, the European Union\u2019s earth observation programme, the industry is responsible for vast releases of nitrogen dioxide that can cause acid rain.<\/p>\n Studies also indicate that the sound emitted by air guns used for offshore exploration can affect living organisms<\/a> in the sea. \u201cThese rumbles emitted at different frequencies can affect reproductive, feeding and orientation cycles,\u201d Michell Havlik, a doctor of marine bioacoustics at Kaust University in Saudi Arabia, told Di\u00e1logo Chino.<\/p>\n As drilling takes place deeper and further offshore, we\u2019re talking about more drilling with less safety: it\u2019s a perfect recipe for disaster<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Halperin, however, said the industry is aware of this situation and has implemented methods to reduce the impact. \u201cIt\u2019s called \u2018soft start\u2019. We start with a subtle rumble and gradually increase the power so that if there are any cetaceans or schools of fish, they start to feel disturbed and move out to sea,\u201d the IAPG representative explained.<\/p>\n It is estimated that offshore exploitation in Argentina would last between 25 and 30 years, until the hydrocarbon wells are exhausted or are no longer profitable \u2013 an implied endpoint at which the developed offshore infrastructure could eventually become unusable. \u201cMuch of the infrastructure in the wells is dismantled,\u201d Halperin explained. Another percentage, according to other organisations, is left as stranded assets or empty shells.<\/p>\n A report<\/a> by the Colombian Climate Disclosure Initiative warned that this machinery\u2019s production and usage may have an even shorter horizon, in light of efforts towards decarbonisation due to climate commitments.<\/p>\n But for OPsur, it is not only the cost of infrastructure that could affect the economy and the population. \u201cAll these impacts especially affect activities in coastal regions. Tourism and fishing can be among the main activities in the area that are overshadowed,\u201d explained Quilaqueo.<\/p>\n Halperin thinks this is an exaggeration. \u201cWe are 300 kilometres from the coast \u2013 you can\u2019t even see the platforms,\u201d the IAGP representative retorted. However, the construction of ports, refineries, hydrocarbon storage centres, pipelines and transport routes for the industry can displace economic activities already installed in the area, as well as dispossessing the population of land for this infrastructure.<\/p>\n Argentina has already had oil spills in its waters. A request for information made by Di\u00e1logo Chino to the Naval Prefecture, the agency responsible for protecting national waters, revealed that there were at least 17 spills registered between 2016 and 2022. This data coincides with a study done by the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE), which has a monitoring system<\/a> for spills on coasts.<\/p>\n 17<\/p>\n Data is only available for that six-year period. However, according to Law 22.190<\/a>, Law 24.089<\/a>, Law 24.292<\/a>, and Law 25.137<\/a>, monitoring should have been in place since 1981 to date. The volume spilled, materials and companies involved in these recent cases remain a mystery, as they are still in court. However, following a request for information, the Naval Prefecture reported that the total fines paid for between 2016 and 2022 was just US$19,408.<\/p>\n In its nationally determined contribution<\/a> (NDC), its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Argentine government proposes a scenario for 2030 in which there is a simultaneous growth of fossil fuels, especially natural gas, alongside non-conventional renewable energies. However, since the inauguration of President Alberto Fern\u00e1ndez, no new public tenders for solar and wind farms have been issued.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not enough just to have a [decarbonisation] goal for 2030 or 2050, it is essential to draw up a roadmap to achieve it,\u201d write P\u00eda Marchegiani and Andr\u00e9s Napoli, the directors of FARN, in their latest environmental report<\/a>. This call for urgency is similar to the tension that orbits between the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Energy, though political weight tends to lean towards the latter.<\/p>\n In regards to offshore, there is on one hand the claim that it will generate, in an accelerated manner, foreign currency to compensate for Argentina\u2019s economic crisis. On the other hand, there is the need to generate concrete policies to implement an energy transition, regulate hydrocarbon production, and comply with emissions reductions. \u201cIn the framework of a state that promotes the advance of hydrocarbons, the capacity for oversight, control and regulation is very limited,\u201d Quilaqueo acknowledged.<\/p>\n In one of the latest releases by the new Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, measures to accelerate hydrocarbon production in the northern province of Neuqu\u00e9n were announced. Similarly, there has been an opening to investment from the companies TotalEnergies, Pan American Energy (PAE) and Wintershall Dea, which will invest US$700 million to advance with the construction of F\u00e9nix, an offshore project in the country\u2019s southern waters. The minister also announced that he will soon sign the extension of the Oldelval and Oiltanking-Ebytem concessions to underpin investments of US$1.4 billion and expand the pipeline system from Vaca Muerta<\/a>, an oil and gas field in the country\u2019s north, to Bah\u00eda Blanca further south.<\/p>\nA new age of offshore?<\/h2>\n
![\"Graphic](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Offshore-oil-explainer_Argentina_Dialogo-Chino_EN-1-scaled.jpg\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/China-Guyana-offshore-oil-1440x720-1.jpg\")
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The impacts of offshore oil<\/h2>\n
![\"clean-up](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Warzone_in_Gulf_of_Mexico.jpeg\")
Bad timing for decarbonisation<\/h2>\n
\nThe number of oil spills in Argentine waters between 2016 and 2022, according to information from the country\u2019s Naval Prefecture
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