MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian and Argentinian energy companies are interested in joint projects to extract hydrocarbons in Argentina, the Russian ambassador to the South American country said Thursday.
Russia’s energy giant Gazprom and Argentina’s largest energy firm YPF signed a deal last September on the joint exploitation of shale oil and gas fields. Argentina is reported to have the largest unconventional hydrocarbon deposits outside North America.
Ambassador Viktor Koronelli said the two national energy giants were maintaining "intensive" contacts. "It is too early to talk about the implementation of concrete projects but both sides have huge interest [in cooperation]," he said.
Gazprom is looking to tap into the large oil and gas deposits in western Argentina's Vaca Muerta ("dead cow") oil field, which were discovered in 2011. The field is believed to possess one of the world's largest reserves of shale-based hydrocarbons.
