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Equity and Regional Variation in Vaca Muerta, Patagonian Hydrogen and Transition Infrastructure

Uneven geographic distribution of transition infrastructure and extractive activities in Patagonia generates structural disparities between macro-level energy goals and subnational socio-ecological wellbeing. The co-existence of unconventional hydrocarbon exploitation in Vaca Muerta and emerging green hydrogen developments produces distinct forms of territorial friction, land-use contestation, and infrastructure pressures across Argentine provinces. Resolving these spatial inequities requires reconfiguring multi-level energy governance frameworks to prioritize territorial justice, revenue distribution, and participatory regional planning.

Objetivo

Examine spatial equity and regional variation in Vaca Muerta hydrocarbon extraction and Patagonian green hydrogen infrastructure development.

Metodología

Comparative policy analysis and qualitative synthesis of public energy documents, regulatory frameworks, and peer-reviewed regional development literature.

Novedad científica

Synthesizes political ecology with comparative infrastructure analysis across simultaneous unconventional fossil and green hydrogen developments in South America.

Vista previa del documento

Esta es una vista previa breve. La versión completa incluye texto ampliado para todas las secciones, una conclusión y una bibliografía formateada.

PhD Dissertation

Degree:
Equity and Regional Variation in Vaca Muerta, Patagonian Hydrogen and Transition Infrastructure

Author:

Group

First M. Last

Advisor:

Dr. First Last

City, 2026

Contents

Carátula
Declaración de Uso de IA
Abstract
Introduction
Chapter 1. Conceptual Frameworks of Spatial Equity and Energy Transitions
1.1 Theories of Just Transition and Regional Political Ecology
1.2 Spatial Inequity and Resource Peripheries in South America
1.3 Multi-Level Governance and Subnational Infrastructure Planning
1.4 Analytical Framework for Evaluating Distributed Energy Benefits
Chapter 2. Methodological Design for Comparative Subnational Assessment
2.1 Comparative Policy Analysis and Documental Corpus Selection
2.2 Spatial Differentiation and Regional Boundary Delineation
2.3 Qualitative Indicators of Territorial Impact and Distributional Justice
2.4 Methodological Limitations and Ethical Considerations in Resource Contexts
Chapter 3. Hydrocarbon Extraction and Territorial Friction in the Neuquén Basin
3.1 Unconventional Hydrocarbon Expansion across Vaca Muerta Formations
3.2 Socioeconomic Disparities and Localized Resource Dependencies
3.3 Land Tenure Conflicts and Indigenous Territorial Rights
3.4 Environmental Risks and Infrastructure Stress in Northern Patagonia
Chapter 4. Green Hydrogen Deployments and Renewable Infrastructure across Patagonia
4.1 Wind Resource Endowments and Hydrogen Production Potential
4.2 Export-Oriented Megaprojects versus Local Energy Access
4.3 Water Consumption, Land Acquisition, and Eco-Territorial Clashes
4.4 Port, Transport, and Interconnection Grid Bottlenecks
Chapter 5. Infrastructure Integration, Dual Transitions, and Pipeline Co-Utilization
5.1 Hydrogen Blending Dynamics within Existing Natural Gas Networks
5.2 Spatial Convergence of Fossil and Renewable Logistical Corridors
5.3 Revenue Distribution, Royalties, and Subnational Fiscal Asymmetries
Chapter 6. Pathways toward Equitable Energy Transition Governance
6.1 Frameworks for Prioritizing Territorial Equity in National Energy Strategies
6.2 Community Benefit Agreements and Participatory Resource Management
6.3 Regional Development Policy Harmonization across Patagonian Jurisdictions
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

Regional energy transitions in resource-rich peripheries manifest complex interactions between existing extractive models and emerging low-carbon infrastructures. In the southern cone, the concurrent intensification of unconventional fossil fuels in the Neuquén Basin and the strategic promotion of green hydrogen hubs across Patagonia illustrate structural tensions between macroeconomic fiscal goals and localized socio-spatial equity [1], [3]. Spatial disparities in wealth accumulation, infrastructure development, and environmental burdens reveal how decarbonization pathways risk replicating conventional extractive paradigms when regional governance structures remain centralized and exclusionary [2].

Territorial friction emerges prominently in spaces where intensive capital investments intersect with historical land tenure systems and fragile ecosystems. In northern Patagonia, unconventional shale gas extraction in Vaca Muerta generates profound socio-spatial shifts, displacing local agricultural practices and producing legal and territorial disputes with indigenous Mapuche communities over ancestral domain and ecological protection [1], [7]. Concurrently, large-scale green hydrogen projects, driven by exceptional wind endowments, demand significant land expanses and water resources, often framing southern Patagonia as an empty frontier destined solely for international energy export [2].

Evaluating the regional variation between extractive shale basins and green energy corridors requires an integrated framework grounded in political ecology and infrastructure studies. The analytical synthesis of secondary policy corpora, regional planning documents, and comparative socio-territorial indicators provides the evidentiary foundation for assessing how transition infrastructure can be governed to advance distributional justice [2], [8]. Examining these intersecting energy trajectories clarifies the institutional mechanisms necessary to prevent subnational marginalization during large-scale resource development.

Ultimately, understanding the governance of dual energy regimes is essential for ensuring that transition policies generate durable regional benefits rather than deepened structural inequalities. By contrasting unconventional hydrocarbon development in Vaca Muerta with emerging hydrogen systems, this research examines the policy architectures, pipeline blending possibilities, and regional planning strategies capable of aligning national decarbonization objectives with equitable subnational development [2], [8].

2.3 Qualitative Indicators of Territorial Impact and Distributional Justice

To evaluate the structural disparities produced across regional transition pathways, this dissertation establishes a comparative qualitative research design centered on northern and southern Patagonia. The methodological framework operationalizes territorial justice by examining how subnational jurisdictions experience overlapping extraction and decarbonization strategies. First, the investigation traces institutional friction and traditional land-use disputes arising from conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon operations within the Neuquén Basin, drawing upon qualitative and judicial evidence concerning affected Mapuche communities such as Lof Kaxipayiñ and Lof Fvta Xayen (Pérez, 2024). This localized focus illuminates how underground resource exploitation reorganizes surface spatial rights, territorial projects, and procedural justice when disputes are settled in institutional arenas. Second, these extractive tensions are systematically juxtaposed against emerging regional hydrogen utilization initiatives across Patagonian jurisdictions, assessing whether planned renewable energy pathways foster sustainable human development or reproduce historical core-periphery asymmetries (Carrizo et al., 2020). Methodologically, data collection relies on extensive documentary analysis, comprising provincial regulatory instruments, environmental impact assessments, judicial filings, and multi-level policy declarations across Argentine provinces. By coding these textual corpora through structured qualitative content analysis, the research traces how regulatory divergences, fiscal mechanisms, and logistical infrastructure corridors reconfigure territorial equity across provincial borders. This multi-sited qualitative comparative approach avoids treating energy infrastructures as neutral technical artifacts, instead positioning them as contested socio-spatial interventions that reshape provincial authority, community tenure, and regional distributional outcomes across peripheral resource basins.

References

  1. Vaca Muerta como territorio(s) en fricción: pueblo Mapuche e hidrocarburos al norte de la Patagonia argentina / Vaca Muerta as Territory of Friction: The Mapuche People and Hydrocarbons in Northern Argentine Patagonia
    Melisa Cabrapan Duarte, Melisa Cabrapan L´Hoste
    Enlace DOI
  2. The energy transition towards hydrogen utilization for green life and sustainable human development in Patagonia
    José Luis Aprea, Juan Carlos Bolcich
    Enlace DOI
  3. Fracking Vaca Muerta: Socioeconomic Implications of Shale Gas Extraction in Northern Patagonia, Argentina
    Elvin Delgado
    Enlace DOI
  4. Etude de l'évolution diagenétique de la formation de la Vaca Muerta (Argentine) à différents niveaux de maturité
    Philippine Rutman
  5. Architecture stratigraphique, dynamique sédimentaire et distribution de la matière organique de la formation de la Vaca Muerta (Bassin de Neuquén, Argentine)
    Nesma Krim
  6. Génération de fluides, migration et fracturation au sein des roches mères : cas de la formation de la Vaca Muerta, bassin de Neuquén, Argentine
    Salomé Larmier
  7. Chapitre 10. Détruire les « prises sensibles ». Risque d’effondrement et expériences du monde dans la formation d’hydrocarbures de Vaca Muerta, Argentine
    Tobias Etienne-Greenwood
  8. Hydrogen Blending in the Current Natural Gas Infrastructure as a Feasible Energy Security Option
    Debapriya Mukherjee, PLS Rao, Sunil Jha

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