It’s no secret that one of the main goals of the U.S. strike on Venezuela — which ended with the capture of then-president Nicolás Maduro — was to secure access to the country’s oil.

Shortly after the invasion, the White House claimed it intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely.” 

Analysts say that such disruption could hurt Argentina’s fossil fuel industry, which relies almost entirely on Vaca Muerta, a vast shale oil and gas field in northern Patagonia.

“With the current international oil price, Vaca Muerta (which produces unconventional oil) is operating at cruising speed, while conventional oil faces difficulties due to the reduction in operating margins,” a report by consulting firm PxQ said. 

Oil prices are already relatively low due to oversupply, with the U.S. becoming the world’s main producer in 2018 and OPEC countries (a large group of producing nations) consistently increasing their production goals. From 2022 to 2026, crude oil went from over US$100 to US$56 a barrel. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. President Donald Trump expects to produce enough crude from Venezuela’s oilfields to drive down the price even further, to about US$50.

For unconventional reservoirs like Vaca Muerta, which require major investment for extraction through techniques such as fracking, lower oil prices could be a determining factor in........

© Buenos Aires Herald