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Ruben Etcheverry, chief executive of Gas and Oil of Neuquen, a provincial energy producer, said he believes that the government’s pricing structure needs to be reviewed. He noted that some companies have been able to negotiate supply deals at prices above those set by the government, a policy that could be revised and expanded to lure more companies.
Etcheverry also said that Argentina, with a history of shifting policies that unnerve investors, needs to ensure that clear rules are established and not changed.
“Companies are accustomed to risk – business, geological, commercial risk,” Etcheverry said. “But what investors and foreign companies worry about is the uncertainty, not the risk. Risk is accepted and is part of doing business – not uncertainty and unforeseen changes.”
Though the provincial government is an ally of President Fernandez, the position taken by officials here is at odds with the nationalistic approach favored by some of the energy officials in the central government in Buenos Aires.
Planning Minister Julio De Vido has suggested the government would not end subsidies that keep natural gas prices low. And Axel Kiciloff, vice minister of economy and an architect of the YPF takeover, has signaled that the government would pay far less for the expropriation of YPF than its former owner, Madrid-based Repsol, is demanding.
Carlos Pagni, a columnist for the Buenos Aires newspaper La Nacion who is critical of Fernandez’s policies, said that the YPF takeover has taken away the leverage the Neuquen provincial government had on running the energy sector.
“Because of their culture there, they understand better than anyone the energy issue,” said Pagni, noting that Neuquen has long been an energy stronghold. “They talk the language they talk in the rest of the world. They are very pragmatic centrists.”
Now, instead of the province directly negotiating with a privately run YPF, it will be the central government controlling nearly all facets of energy policy. And Fernandez’s government, Pagni said, can use its hold over YPF and the control it exercises over the country’s purse-strings to ensure loyalty from provincial officials.
“It’s the worst partner you can have,” Pagni said of the state.
Trying to compete
Still, in the aftermath of the April 16 expropriation in which YPF executives were forced from their executive offices in Buenos Aires, Fernandez’s government has shown signs of softening its populist approach.
Earlier this month, the government appointed Miguel Galuccio, a well-respected engineer who had been a high executive at the oil services giant Schlumberger, to head YPF. The company’s shares spiked on the New York Stock Exchange as word filtered out that Galuccio would be named.
“The idea is essentially to create a YPF that is absolutely modern, competitive, with professional people,” the president said at the ceremony where Galuccio was presented to the Argentine public.
Just the logistic hurdles to developing Dead Cow will be a huge challenge for Galuccio, as well as for the oil majors that Argentina hopes will work alongside YPF. Shale oil and gas requires hydraulic fracturing – blasting water, chemical and sand to make “tight” rock formations porous for oil and gas to flow – and that means technical know-how and substantial investments.
Montamat, the former YPF president, estimates that for Argentina to take advantage of the riches under the ground here will require 2,000 wells a year for the foreseeable future, which will cost tens of billions of dollars.
Still, for Coco, the provincial energy minister here, the lure of what’s underground will trump the regulatory obstacles.
“The oil market is special,” he said. “And we have always said, if the world invests in countries at war, as in the Middle East, or Asia or other places, then why wouldn’t they do so in Argentina?”
