These words were spoken by Ricardo Markous, CEO of Tecpetrol, at the Energy Conference held during Engineering Week, an event organized by the Argentine Engineering Center for engineers from all over Argentina.

Pablo Bereciartúa, President of the Argentine Engineers Center, and Carlos Bacher, CEO of Techint E&C and President of the Engineering Week, opened the event which this year answered to the slogan “Engineering for the Development of a Competitive Argentina”.

Bereciartúa stressed that the event “is already a well-established tradition, with over 80 editions to its name. But never before has it been held online, which is a key opportunity to discuss the things that Argentina needs. Today, we have the opportunity to change our reality.”

Bacher added that: "This last year of global and local crises shows us that countries live crises in many different ways, and thus propose courses of action based on different strategies. But the only way out is by looking ahead, and the goal of these conferences is to work on a sustainable mid to long-term plan to fulfill the country’s potential for transformation.”

The first day dealt with the topic of Energy, and the sessions were moderated by Ricardo Markous, who stated that “the energy transition has begun. Although we don’t know how fast it’s going, we do know that the gas we have in Argentina is a vital resource in this process.” Then he turned his attention to Vaca Muerta: "We have enormous potential. But if we don’t use it in the next two to three decades, we will have lost the chance to do so forever. However, we need a stable macroeconomy and the right conditions for investment." He explained that currently, Argentina only exports 10% of its hydrocarbons production. "If we double production, we’ll need investments to replace gas imports and multiply exports," he pointed out.

Sean Rooney, President of Shell Argentina, highlighted the Argentine experience in Vaca Muerta: “The region has benefited from the North American shale experience, and drilling efficiency has improved by 25%, enhanced by the benefits of significant skills and know-how exchange. However, we can grow even more: we need to double the number of companies currently offering services.”

Luciano Fucello, NCS Multistage Country Manager, explained that "in Vaca Muerta, the investment intensity we have is ten times greater than that required by conventional oil activities, and in practical terms, the resource is almost infinite."

The sessions were concluded by Santiago Martínez Tanoira, Vice President of Gas and Energy at YPF: “Gas is the energy of the transition because it is the cleanest fossil fuel around. Renewable energies face certain intrinsic limitations, and there must be a credible backup for these: this has to be natural gas, as much due to costs as to emissions.”

Don’t miss the next sessions making up Engineering Week: Agro, Mining and Industry.