The economic, social and environmental impacts of offshore oil exploration in Argentina: A critical appraisal

Abstract

The recent approval of an offshore oil exploration project in Argentina has agitated local communities. It has managed to stop the led to a suspension of the initiative, led to the design and passing of a judicial measure and sparked a public debate about the possible environmental impacts of the project and what implications it has for the sustainability of the oceans. By reviewing the regulatory framework, project approval documents, journalistic notes, and multiple public statements by the actors involved, we sought to reconstruct the conflict's chronology and reflect the problem's multiple edges and visions of the problem. From this work, it was possible to identify the arguments for and against the project, contrast them with scientific evidence generated internationally on offshore oil exploitation, and frame the case study in the debates on the blue economy and the sustainability of the oceans. The results obtained made it possible to identify the main arguments for and against the project, to recognize some achievements and positive results, and to identify horizons towards which the social movement should direct itself to channel the results obtained, the spaces of power gained, and to know what it can demand and receive.