The Market’s Revenge on Energy Statism
Argentina's energy sector is undergoing significant changes under President Javier Milei, who advocates for deregulation and market-driven policies. The country's vast shale reserves, particularly in Vaca Muerta, have remained largely untapped due to previous government actions that stifled investment. With new incentives in place, including the RIGI program, capital is beginning to flow back into the sector, signaling a potential transformation in Argentina's energy landscape.
- ▪Argentina possesses the world's second-largest reserves of shale gas and the fourth-largest of shale oil in the Vaca Muerta basin.
- ▪President Javier Milei has implemented deregulation and opened the energy sector to foreign investment.
- ▪YPF has announced a $25 billion project to drill 1,152 wells in Vaca Muerta, aiming for significant oil exports and job creation.
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The Market’s Revenge on Energy Statism By The Heartland Institute | 6:00 AM on May 21, 2026 The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com. AP Photo/Gustavo Garello There are few contemporary experiments as instructive for the friend of liberty as the one currently unfolding in Argentina. Beneath the soil of Patagonia, in the province of Neuquén, lies a 30,000 km geological basin known as Vaca Muerta — “the Dead Cow.” According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it holds the world’s second-largest reserves of shale gas and the fourth-largest of shale oil. Discovered in the early 2010s, this deposit should have turned Argentina into a major energy power.
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