Flagship project: Argentina – Examining the interconnections between Fracking, Food, and Watersheds

A systems-based research of extractive pressures in the Vaca Muerta region.

Context

The Vaca Muerta sedimentary basin is one of the largest shale oil and gas reserves in the world, and because of its extraction, the region is going through an accelerated transformation. Located in west-central Argentina, the expansion of hydrocarbon activities in this basin is intensifying environmental risks.

It underlies the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Mendoza, and La Pampa, spanning key watersheds including the Limay, Neuquén, and Negro rivers. These rivers form a connected watershed that irrigates approximately 150,000 hectares of cropland, primarily fruit trees such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, and wine grapes. The watershed also supports several hydroelectric developments — with additional projects planned — and provides drinking and industrial water for nearly 1 million residents as of 2010, a number projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2050.

This basin combines energy-rich shale reserves — estimated at 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 16 billion barrels of oil — with fertile agricultural zones, particularly along the Río Negro floodplain. Its geography links high Andean headwaters in the west with productive lowland farming areas in the east, creating interdependencies between water resources, energy extraction, and food production.

What We Observed

Hydrological Stress and Climate Variability

Rainfall is highly uneven across the basin — with over 3,000 mm/year in the west near the Andes, but just 200 mm/year in the eastern lowlands. Most of this rainfall occurs in the upper mountain reaches on the Chilean border, while the eastern lowlands depend heavily on river flows for irrigation and urban supply. Seasonal flows in the Neuquén, Limay, and Negro rivers drop sharply from early summer to early autumn (December–April), aligning with peak agricultural and energy demand. These patterns show why it’s critical to examine water use at a finer scale — one that accounts for supply variability and the competing needs of different users.

Rapid Expansion of Fracking Near Productive Zones

As oil and gas operations expand, they increasingly overlap with fruit orchards and irrigation networks. Our satellite analysis and field visits confirmed that unconventional wells are now operating within or adjacent to agricultural lands — raising risks to water, soil, and crop quality. In some cases, wells are situated near paleochannels, reservoirs, and irrigation/drainage canals, making contamination risks even more acute.

Key Findings

Fracking and Water System Proximity

Infrastructure like well pads, pipelines, and sump pits are often located dangerously close to rivers, canals, and aquifers. In high-risk zones such as paleochannels, reservoirs, and irrigation/drainage canals, management requires the highest operational standards and strict monitoring to protect water quality.

Threats to Agricultural Production

Many well sites are within a few kilometers of orchards producing apples, pears, peaches, and grapes. Contamination — through soil, groundwater, or air — could impact both food safety and economic stability in the region.

Oil Waste and Sump Disposal

Fracking generates both liquid and solid waste, including cuttings (drilling mud) and flowback water — a mixture of water, sand, and numerous chemical compounds. Flowback can contain heavy metals, salts, and hazardous volatile compounds. While the solid portion is processed at treatment plants known as oil dumps, the liquid portion is often stored in sumps, removing it permanently from the hydrological cycle. The exact locations of these treatment and disposal sites, and their proximity to urban areas and waterways, remain poorly documented.

What’s Missing

Despite the scale of activity, we found that there is no publicly accessible system that tracks the full interaction between hydrocarbon infrastructure, water flows, land use, and population growth. There is also no comprehensive dataset on waste treatment standards, sump locations, or the safety of facilities near agricultural and urban zones. Without this information, it is impossible to fully assess cumulative risks or implement adequate safeguards.

Why It Matters

The Vaca Muerta region is more than a resource — it’s a complex socio-ecological system. Understanding how hydrocarbon extraction, farming, and hydrology interact is essential to designing just, informed, and responsible policies.

Without systems-level visibility, reactive policies will fall short — and risks to communities, food systems, and the environment will grow unchecked.