MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Macri announces program to boost development of Vaca Muerta shale formation
Argentina's government has agreed to extend a natural gas wellhead price subsidy until 2020 and reduce labor costs in a bid to jumpstart investment in the Vaca Muerta shale formation. The agreement, reached between the national government, the provincial government of Neuquen, industry and labor unions, comes at a time of lackluster upstream activity, reflecting an uncertain price environment and cost concerns. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rules“Argentina's government has agreed to extend a natural gas wellhead price subsidy until 2020 and reduce labor costs....” “ .....the government appears to have negotiated with the unions....”
Jan 11th, 2017 - 03:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0In other words, make massive use of public monies through heavy taxation of competitive industries and domestic commerce, to supply costly price supports for a habitually low-efficiency and featherbedded industry.
Lower labour costs? Didn't YPF workers get a 30 percent wage increase just a few months ago? Hello ?
Didn't the head of the petroleum-products transport union just announce “No fooking way we are going to accept salary reductions” ?
One has to wonder what Macri is smoking, and how gullible real investors might be.
Well, 30% increase is just about right considering inflation over 40%.
Jan 11th, 2017 - 05:47 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Yup, congressional IPC showed 40.3 percent annual inflation for the country in 2016.
Jan 11th, 2017 - 07:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0And all that rah-rah about how much the Argentine economy is going to achieve astronomical growth this year? They're starting to back-pedal already. World Bank is confessing unsubstantiated optimism now. They were forecasting 3.1% GNP growth earlier and now are backing off to 2.7 % - still wildly high but in a few weeks they'll see more of the error of their ways. The government budget here of course is counting on 3.5% GNP growth, but their numbers are the stuff of smoke, myth, and legend. There will be some, um, adjustments.
Speaking of YPF, the funniest (or the most absurd) event last year was when the Macri government invited Repsol to return to invest in Argentina, this not long after the previous government had done it enormous harm by expropriating its holdings here.
I want to know what Macri is smoking.
TWIMC
Jan 11th, 2017 - 08:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is no secret that I'm no fan of Mr. Macri and/or his administration...
But.......... it is quite positive that they renegotiated and lowered the incredible high wages and impossible lenient and expensive working conditions the oil workers union had reached in the last many years...
“Taxi hours rules”... “Wind hours rules”... “Daylight hours rules”... “Overwork hours rules” and many other such“Rules” made it possible for a new started foot oil worker to make more money than a brain surgeon or a top spacecraft engineer...
Surprisingly, I happen to agree with Marti's assessment of the Macri administration after one year in business. Many in Argentina are painfully realizing the true intentions of this team of CEOs who are in government just to direct resources towards their specific business interests and couldn't care less about the Argentines' wellbeing.
Jan 11th, 2017 - 09:36 pm - Link - Report abuse -3So far, the only numbers in the black are optimistic “estimates” for this year. All economic indicators for 2016, including 40-plus per cent inflation, are in the red--and pretty alarming.
EM
Jan 11th, 2017 - 11:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“All economic indicators for 2016, including 40-plus per cent inflation, are in the red--and pretty alarming.”
In other words, “nothing has changed”?
If it's “alarming” and nothing has changed, then it must have been “alarming”
under CFK as well.
Try harder EM, ya wet noodle.
@Kanye
Jan 16th, 2017 - 02:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0Ohhh...we are getting short of arguments and resorting to cheap naming calling, aren't we?
Well: you know well that inflation in Argentina in 2015 was on the 20s per cent and that according to the INDEC's revised numbers under Macri, so don't be so smug my friend.
Things have really turned out for the worse and you know that.
Your cheap talk about the “heavy inheritance” blaming CFK for all things bad in Argentina can only work for so long--the argument wears thinner by the day.
Oh, and be careful. The wet noodle has a bad habit of going to get across your throat...be careful you don't choke!
Mr Enrique,
Jan 16th, 2017 - 03:39 am - Link - Report abuse 0Evita K cleaned out the Reserve, private pension plans, and $100b of creditors' money, to futilely prop up the Peso and pay La Campora and the noquis.
She left nothing.
I bet her policies you endorse so heartily, protectionism, nationalizing, and taxing exports, would have been a sure fire success... !
You'll never live to see that happen.
I won't either.
Not even Hepatia, in 25 years or more.
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