Ramiro Ramirez, a trained mechanic, found work in just a month at Argentina's Vaca Muerta, home of one of the world's largest shale oil and gas reserves, where he earns 10 times his previous salary as a cook.
His new life operating a gas compressor is not easy. Ramirez, 25, leaves his city in Neuquen province at 5 a.m. for a daily two-hour ride to oil fields by the small, dusty town of Añelo, which has swelled with newcomers seeking work since the formation's production rose sharply in recent years.
He hopes to make a career at Vaca Muerta, a bright spot in President Javier Milei’s austerity-heavy economic playbook that contrasts sharply with job losses across the country.
“All in all, I feel pretty good,” said Ramirez. “These are very desired positions.”
Vaca Muerta could be a transformative force for Argentina's economy, which needs dollars to contain inflation and repay loans to the International Monetary Fund. YPF, Argentina’s state-run energy company, projects that by 2031, the formation will generate $50 billion in export dollars, rivaling Argentina’s agriculture sector.
It is well on its way: In 2024, Argentina logged its largest energy trade surplus in nearly two decades, and last year broke its record again exporting $11.1 billion worth of energy.
Economists say Milei is smart to focus on capital-intensive sectors such as Vaca Muerta, which he has called “the new Argentine panacea.” But they caution that as Vaca Muerta develops, much of Argentina waits for economic relief.
Workers in Neuquen in western Argentina's Patagonia region earn the country's highest average private-sector salary. Much of Argentina, by contrast, is suffering from lost manufacturing and construction jobs amid Milei’s lowering of import tariffs, suspension of federal infrastructure projects and austerity measures that have decreased purchasing power.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva recently applauded Milei's reduction of once-staggering inflation but highlighted hurting sectors, saying Argentina needs to create better conditions for businesses and individuals to take out bank loans and mortgages.
“There’s no way for Argentina not to prioritize (Vaca Muerta),” said Lucas Pussetto, an economist at Argentina's Austral University, later adding, “Is it enough? No.”
YPF•
