Energy and development: a contribution to the debate on the forms of hydrocarbon production in relation to the Neuquén-Mendoza case of study

Abstract

The study of the energy matrix (sources, production, consumption) is a topic of analysis in different disciplines (geology, economics, ecology, political science, sociology) and its articulations, such as political economy, economic sociology and political ecology. The conception about the relationship with nature is a dividing line between these approaches, depending on whether the emphasis is placed on the use of natural resources existing in the territory (a productivist point of view) or on its consideration as a common good (political ecology). From the economic sociology field, the line of inquiry that we pursue implies considering hydrocarbon exploitation as a privileged area of accumulation. This is not exclusive to Argentina, but is part of the political economic relations worldwide. Hydrocarbons (oil and gas) are considered strategic assets around which the exploitation and appropriation of their benefits are disputed in terms of products (value in use) and in terms of generating value/wealth (exchange value). In Argentina, the changes in the oil and gas production regulations and practices have its correlation in the configuration of productive actors (including the State at its various levels). At this point, we will present the research advances on the particular composition of the involved actors in the previously mentioned process.