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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina. A Spanish company called Repsol has
discovered a huge amount of shale oil in Argentina. The find could
increase Argentina's ability to cash in on energy. However, some
people are concerned about the cost of getting the oil from the
ground. There are also people concerned about what it might do to
the environment.
The oil was discovered in the dry "Vaca Muerta," or "Dead Cow,"
basin in northern Patagonia. It's a region of rocky, treeless plains
dotted with dry brush. There are only two lakes nearby. According to
Repsol, the discovery includes 927 million barrels of reachable oil
and natural gas. Of that, 741 million barrels are shale oil. There may Photo credit and all related images:
be even more than that. Other regions of Argentina have yet to be AP / Leonardo Petricio, File
explored and may also hold oil. A Spanish company called Repsol
has discovered a huge amount of
It's big news. Oil can be very valuable. That's because it is a widely shale oil in Argentina. Leaders
used source of energy. Therefore, Argentina's economic situation disagree about whether extracting
could benefit from the export of oil. the oil is worth the cost.
Still, many people are not ready to celebrate the discovery. Experts
say that the find is very promising. It is unclear how much time and money may be needed to profit from the
oil, however.
"It must be proven first of all that [Repsol has found usable oil]," said Daniel Bosque. Bosque is editor of the
Argentina-based Web site Enernews. He wonders if a profit can be made from the shale oil. Regular crude oil
comes out of the ground in liquid form. Shale oil is drilled from rocks and is generally in solid form. This makes
it costlier to get to than normal crude oil.
Jason Schenker is an energy expert. He also had mixed feelings. Schenker said such oil discoveries "will be
critical to meet rising global oil demand. Now the questions will be: How quickly can this oil be brought into
production...and at what price?"

Repsol wasn't immediately ready to answer these questions. However, Repsol spokesperson Kristian Rix said that
15 wells have already been drilled. Those wells are producing 5,000 barrels a day of shale oil. That means
developing the area should be simple. Still, Rix said it's still too early to comment on how long it would take or
how much it would cost to get all the oil from the area.

There are also concerns about the environmental impact of getting the oil. The oil would be gotten using
hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Fracking is a technique that involves forcing water, sand, and chemicals into
the rock using high pressure. This pushes out the fuel. It's not yet clear which water sources would be used in
that process. In a recent report, the environmental group Greenpeace said that fracking puts serious pressure
on water supplies. This is particularly true in dry regions. Greenpeace also warned that the chemicals used can
get in underground water supplies. In addition, little is known about other possible effects.
Greenpeace is against oil developments like the one in Argentina. That is, unless "it's shown that there's no
impact," said Ernesto Boerio. He is an energy and climate expert for Greenpeace. "More needs to be known
about this project."

Speaking for Repsol, Rix said, "We operate to the highest standards of safety and environmental protection."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

PART 2

Dig Deeper
If people in Argentina don't want to start fracking, why not just look for oil somewhere else?