Latin America has a long history of resource nationalism, particularly when it comes to petroleum. Since the end of World War Two, this has acted as a significant deterrent for international energy majors seeking to invest in the region’s vast hydrocarbon potential. This is being amplified by the heightened geopolitical risk and instability that is emerging in Latin America. One country which less than a decade ago garnered headlines for all the wrong reasons after nationalizing its integrated oil company was Argentina. The Latin American country is viewed as a pariah state among financial markets and investors after defaulting nine-times on its foreign debt. The 2012 nationalization of YPF sent shockwaves through the ranks of already nervous offshore energy companies eyeing the vast hydrocarbon potential held by Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale. A crumbling economy, dwindling fiscal resources, and overwhelming sovereign debt coupled with hyperinflation as well as a rapidly […]