The energy crisis in Argentina and its relationship with the absence of a stable regulatory legal framework for the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze a possible correlation between the lack of a stable legal regulatory framework for hydrocarbons and the energy crisis the country is going through. The development of the legislation and regulation on hydrocarbons exploitation, competition and ownership will be analyzed with a focus on the future of non-conventional hydrocarbons in the country.

The analysis will be divided into two central axes of discussion. On the one hand, the problems related to the tensions between the Federal Government and the provinces regarding the ownership of resources and the distribution of competences. On the other hand, the problems related to the tensions between the State and the private sector regarding the production, exploitation, distribution and consumption of hydrocarbons.

We will try to show that both problems are related to the lack and the need to establish a comprehensive regulatory regime that seeks an environmentally sustainable development, that attracts local and foreign risk investments, that achieves energy self-sufficiency, and that materializes a fair distribution of the wealth obtained.