The sun‑scoured desert of northwestern Patagonia retains much of its ancient appearance, a sprawling prehistoric landscape where the planet’s largest dinosaurs once walked.
Yet a new kind of giant has arrived, as massive drilling rigs march across the sands and drill deep below in a frantic pursuit of oil and gas.
The rigs’ massive steel legs are pulling shale oil and gas from the ground at unprecedented rates for Argentina, converting a once‑quiet region into the pulsating heart of a fresh energy boom that is sparking optimism nationwide.
“We’ve reached the promised land,” said Raúl Krasuk, 69, who oversees wells at the site for Vista, an Argentine energy firm, while seated in an oil‑field cafeteria that dishes out chicken breasts to workers flocking from across Argentina for a share of the boom.
President Javier Milei has dubbed the Vaca Muerta shale play—also called Dead Cow—a “panacea” for Argentina, arguing it could cure the nation’s chronic economic woes by pouring export dollars into the economy. He has staked significant political capital on its success.
For the first time, crude oil has surpassed soy meal as Argentina’s leading export. Oil industry observers now speak of a potential second boom, echoing the agricultural surge that, more than a hundred years ago, propelled Argentina into the ranks of the world’s wealthiest nations.
“This represents Argentina’s great chance to thrive,” said Rolando Figueroa, governor of Neuquén province, where the shale‑rich region often dubbed Argentina’s Texas lies.
The hedge fund managed by American billionaire Peter Thiel, which has established a presence in Argentina, recently disclosed that it purchased more than $76 million in Vista shares.
A surge of hopeful migrants has overwhelmed Añelo, the town nearest the reserves, prompting the mayor to urge outsiders to stay away.
Despite the questions and challenges, one thing is clear: much of the nation is watching Vaca Muerta closely.
“It’s a revolution,” said Mr. Banderet.
‘Vaca Muerta fever’
Mr. Banderet arrived in Añelo as a child when it was a tiny, impoverished rural settlement. He spent much of his youth living in a converted bus, became a father at 16, and began working as a fruit picker.
Today everything has changed. As foreign governments and entrepreneurs courted him for oil‑related opportunities in Añelo, he said he attended President Trump’s second inauguration, visited Israel, and traveled to the Cannes Film Festival.
“It’s the Vaca Muerta fever,” he said.
“Everyone calls this the oil capital,” said Ezequiel Barrozo, 27, who moved to Añelo from Rosario this year. He said his construction job in Añelo has tripled the salary he earned as a police officer back home. “People told me that coming here would give me a great opportunity,” he added.
This frontier‑style optimism is evident across Neuquén province, which encircles Añelo. Restaurants are bustling, hotels and residential complexes are going up—names such as the Shale Hotel and Petroleum Housing Complex appear—and shopping malls and truck dealerships are springing up on once‑barren plains that were once dominated by wind and dinosaur fossils.
“Hello, future of the country!” exclaimed Gustavo Livoreiro, the school director, as he walked into a classroom.
‘Transformational change’
Over the past decade, Vaca Muerta has helped turn Argentina’s multi‑billion‑dollar energy deficit into a surplus, with further gains anticipated—especially as global crises increase the appeal of a stable, conflict‑free energy supply.
Mr. Milei has backed the energy sector with substantial investment tax cuts and streamlined fuel exports, advancing work on a crucial new pipeline. While earlier Argentine administrations set the stage in Vaca Muerta, his government is poised to reap the benefits.
The shale development, together with a new government budget tightening, constitutes “a structural, fundamental, transformational change,” said Marcelo Mindlin, chairman of Pampa Energía, one of Argentina’s largest energy firms.
“Argentina has long been a symbol of instability,” he said. “These two shifts offer a genuine chance to rewrite that narrative.”
‘You are in, or you are out’
This optimism is not shared by all. Argentina remains deeply divided over its new direction.
Critics note that while rigs roar in the oil fields, assembly lines in industrial centers such as Buenos Aires Province have gone silent.
The disparity is evident in Neuquén. Workers outside the energy sector—teachers, municipal employees, and others—are being squeezed out of basic livelihoods. Even in the nation’s energy capital, Mr. Milei’s elimination of state subsidies has driven up gas prices for many, and some Mapuche Indigenous communities still lack gas connections to their homes. They protest polluting gas flares, claim that chemical waste from the plants is often mishandled, and warn that the industry’s water usage threatens to drain rivers already stressed by climate change.
“They pull the oil out and ship it away,” said Olga Mabel Campo, a Mapuche community leader. “But we are the ones who remain.”
Ms. Campo’s son works in the oil industry. Despite her opposition, he said it was the best job he could find in town.
When an iron wrench slipped and struck his face, it knocked out all his teeth and lacerated his mouth. On another occasion, a fall from a rig platform fractured his spine and broke his leg.
Thanks to the workers’ compensation settlement, she said, he was able to build a home in Añelo and continues to work in the industry.
“It’s something impossible to stop,” Ms. Campo said. “They claim Vaca Muerta will save the world.”
Lucía Cholakian Herrera, Natalie Alcoba, and Daniel Politi contributed reporting from Buenos Aires.