Financial Times: Finds that form a bedrock of hope

Gateway to the windswept wilds of Patagonia, Neuquén knows the power of oil money. Hydrocarbon riches have helped make the city the biggest in an Argentine region that has been producing oil and gas for roughly a century, with a bustling downtown packed with tower blocks and new four-by-four vehicles.

Now Neuquén is on the brink of a modern-day oil rush. Explorers are looking for oil and gas trapped in shale rock formations thousands of feet below the surrounding plains. Argentina’s reserves are believed to be the third biggest in the world, after those of the US and China.

Just as nuclear scientists hoped atomic power was the answer to the world’s energy needs in the 1950s, oil and gas producers believe this new resource could bring plentiful low-cost power. Shale could also bring energy independence for many nations, freeing them from a reliance on imports.  MORE (Registration required)