Abstract

CARRIZO, Silvina Cecilia; JACINTO, Guillermina  and  VILLALBA, María Sofía. Hydrocarbon Networks and Northern Patagonian Territories, in the 21^st Century. Cuad. Geogr. Rev. Colomb. Geogr. [online]. 2023, vol.32, n.1, pp.120-139.  Epub Mar 07, 2024. ISSN 0121-215X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcdg.v32n1.87257.

In Argentina, the deployment of unconventional hydrocarbon activity in the 21st century has transformed the Northern Patagonian territories. The State promotes the exploitation of resources through legislation, agreements and production incentives, and companies invest in the development of the Vaca Muerta sedimentary formation in the Neuquina basin. The infrastructure projects needed to mobilize the growing resources and flows are multiplying. The changes in the hydrocarbon networks are creating economic dynamism and socio-spatial transformations. Co-construction in the Northern Patagonian territories becomes a resource through which the actors create synergies between their projects or resolve emerging conflicts. The objective is to understand the changes in the networks and territories in Northern Patagonia, associated with unconventional hydrocarbon activity. At local and regional scales, multiple social, political, and economic challenges arise; at national level, the development of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, mainly shale gas, would contribute to meet energy demands and support a sector and a transition in which Argentina has been a pioneer. The production of unconventional energy and the associated territorial transformations were analyzed based on field work, interviews, bibliographic analysis, and statistical information.

Keywords : stakeholders; Argentina; co-construction; unconventional hydrocarbons; infrastructure.

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