In early October, ARPEL led the visit of a delegation of Brazilian authorities to Argentina, with the main objective of presenting the experience of this country in the exploration, development and production of unconventional natural gas in the province of Neuquén.

The Ministry of Energy and Mining of Argentina, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Province of Neuquén and the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil participated in this cooperation activity.

In addition, the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas (IAPG), the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP) and the Brazilian Association of Oil Service Companies (ABESPetro) collaborated with this event.

This activity in support of the development of the regional sector was attended by companies with operations and know-how about unconventional reservoirs in Neuquén as well as companies with potential interest in developing such reservoirs in Brazil.

The activity was held October 1-4. The first day, a meeting was held with the participation of the Secretary of Energy Planning of Argentina, Daniel Dreizzen; the Secretary of Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, João Vicente Vieira; the Director of Studies on Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels of Empresa de Investigación Energética (EPE), José Mauro Ferreira Coelho; the Head of Risk Management Advisory Division of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP), Silvio Jablonsky; the Head of the Coordinating Division of Land Areas of ANP, José Fernando de Freitas, and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Representing ARPEL, Izeusse Braga, Executive Secretary, and Miguel Moyano, Director of Upstream, were present at the meeting.

Other members of the delegation visited the research center of YPF, Y-TEC.

In the afternoon, a Seminar was held to offer an overview of operating, logistical and regulatory inputs, which was attended by professionals of Tecpetrol, BHGE, YPF and IAPG, who traveled overnight to Neuquén.

On the second day, a bilateral meeting was held with authorities of both countries, with a focus on the transfer of knowledge and experience in regulatory aspects of unconventionals activities.

During the last two days, the Brazilian delegation split to visit unconventionals operations in the field, and to participate in the Patagonia Oil & Gas Expo organized by IAPG.