Gibson Shipbrokers has identified an unusually named and often overlooked Argentinian shale oilfield as a potential source of extra tonne-miles for tankers.
Vaca Muerta — dead cow in Spanish — is the world's second-largest commercial shale formation, with an estimated 1.6bn barrels of crude and 308trn cbf of associated natural gas.
Argentina's crude export volumes have been limited in recent years following the collapse in oil demand linked to Covid-19, poor export infrastructure and an unfavourable business environment compounded by macroeconomic instability, according to Gibson.
