Añelo: A Town Transformed Amidst Argentina's Fracking Boom

Mon Dec 08 2025 08:27:12 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Once a quiet rural locale, Añelo, Argentina, has transformed into a bustling center due to fracking in the nearby Vaca Muerta formation. This article explores the social, economic, and environmental impacts of this boom on the town and the nation.

Añelo, Argentina, has experienced a dramatic transformation since the advent of fracking in the Vaca Muerta region. Population growth and economic opportunities have surged, but challenges such as environmental concerns and economic dependency on oil and gas remain significant. Local mechanic Fabio Javier Jiménez illustrates the rapid changes as he expands his business amidst the town’s evolution.

Mechanic Fabio Javier Jiménez found himself in the right place at the right time.

When his father moved their family-owned tyre repair shop to the rural Argentine town of Añelo, it was a small, sleepy place, some 1,000km (600 miles) southwest of Buenos Aires.

There was no mains water or gas, and the electricity supply was constantly being cut off.

Then, in 2014, fracking for oil and gas started in the surrounding region, and the conurbation boomed.

We set up the tyre repair shop in the middle of the sand dunes, far from the town centre, says Mr. Jiménez. Then the town grew and passed us by.

Fueled by its newfound energy wealth, Añelo's population soared from 10,788 in 2010 to 17,893 in 2022, an increase of more than 60%.

In addition, Añelo sees some 15,000 workers enter the town each weekday.

This has made the roads very busy, including lots of oil tankers going through.

Last year, 24,956 vehicles entered the town every day, of which 6,400 were lorries, official figures showed. Mr. Jiménez's workshop on the main provincial road is there to help any that need new tyres.

Añelo is located in the heart of Vaca Muerta, a 30,000 sq km (12,000 sq mi) oil and gas-rich geological formation. It was first discovered as far back as 1931, but it wasn't until fracking became legal in Argentina in 2014 that the deposits could be commercially accessed.

Fracking is a method of mining that first became widespread in the US in the early 2000s, whereby a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is injected into the ground. This cracks or fractures the rock, allowing the gas or oil trapped inside to be brought to the surface.

The first fracking operation in Vaca Muerta was a joint operation between Argentina's majority state-owned oil firm Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) and US giant Chevron.

By February of this year, there were 3,358 wells in active production in Vaca Muerta, according to the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas. Of these, 1,632 were oil, and 1,726 were gas.

This accounts for more than half of Argentina's oil and gas production, says Nicolás Gadano, chief economist at the Empiria consultancy and a former YPF official.

He adds that the cost of the fracked oil is cheaper than conventional extraction elsewhere in Argentina, because the latter now comprises very old deposits where the remaining oil is hard to get to.

The oil and gas from Vaca Muerta has given Argentina energy self-sufficiency, overturning decades of shortages and the need for expensive imports. It has also allowed Argentina to export oil and gas, helping it to earn foreign currency.

Last year, there was a significant external surplus in the energy sector of $6bn [£4.6bn], says Mr. Gadano. This year, we are aiming for a similar figure, with much higher volume but lower prices due to the drop in international prices.

However, critics express concern that Vaca Muerta could be hampered by issues like Argentina's credit rating preventing foreign investments and environmental degradation due to fracking practices.

Ultimately, while Añelo has experienced growth, the long-term implications of its dependence on oil and gas extraction remain uncertain as residents like Jiménez remain cautious about the future of their economically volatile hometown.