Argentina’s military police to guard shale assets

Argentina's military police are taking charge of protecting the Vaca Muerta shale formation, highlighting the strategic value of key oil and gas assets in the face of brewing labor union protests.

Argentina's gendarmerie, or military police, will extend its purview to Vaca Muerta, which is mostly located in the southwestern province of Neuquen, "with the sole goal of providing the necessary security conditions," according to a security ministry resolution published in the country's official bulletin today. The force is "vital to provide the physical protections of the installations" in Vaca Muerta "to secure the vital economic interests of the state."

Two oil industry officials said the issue of heightened security has been under discussion for months.

Among Argentina's unions, there is concern that the military police will be used to quell labor conflicts, which have sometimes turned violent and forced oil companies led by state-controlled YPF, to shut in production.

Although initially designed to patrol the nation's borders, the gendarmerie has become the government's go-to force for ensuring security across the country.

Senator Guillermo Pereyra of Neuquen, who leads the region's main oil workers union, rejected the sudden involvement of the gendarmerie in the area.

"We do not have terrorist attacks that justify a type of state of alert like this one," Pereyra said, adding that Neuquen province has its own security force "able to control its territory."

The announcement came after the union warned on 10 September that it was "on permanent alert and mobilization" because of the government's 90-day oil price freeze that it said was costing industry jobs.

The government imposed a freeze on fuel and crude prices last month following a sharp depreciation of the local currency after the main opposition presidential candidate, Alberto Fernandez, obtained a larger-than-expected advantage in a national primary on 11 August.

The depreciation was accompanied by a broad sell-off of Argentinian stocks and bonds amid fears that Fernandez, who is running with former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as his vice presidential pick, will reimpose heavy state controls over the economy. General elections are scheduled for 27 October.

The beefed-up security comes on the eve of Argentina's launch of shale-derived LNG exports and the planned introduction of a new shale oil export blend.

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