Closer in our time, in the 90s of the last century, it was privatized our flagship company and ended up in the hands of Repsol. In those years, beyond the crisis that was generated in the towns of the interior, the company lost its way, oil and gas production fell, reserves fell by almost 50%. However, YPF generated profits that were sent to the Head Office as dividends. The impact for the country was not minor. In 2011, for the first time, the country became a net importer of energy.
It was before this scenario that the president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner resolved to recover YPF and put it at the service of the country’s energy sovereignty. That decision marked the 10th anniversary on April 16. On that date, this government announced the construction of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, which lays the foundations for the country’s future development as a regional and world gas producer.
The years of recovery, between 2013 and 2016, were years of growth for the company. The foundations for the YPF of the future began to be laid during this period with the development of Vaca Muerta; the creation of YTEC as a base for research applied to industry and clean energy; and the generation of electrical energy that were the antecedents of the current YPF Luz, among many other things such as the launch of Infinia or Serviclub.
With that vision and a long-term view, YPF reaches 2016. The ideological conception of the government of Mauricio Macri affected the process that had begun. As an example, it is enough to mention Resolution 46, which benefited other companies to the detriment of YPF in gas production. Four years of management left a company with a drop in production, a drop in reserves, less activity and a very high level of debt.
At the beginning of 2020, with fuel prices frozen and without new investments in Vaca Muerta, we arrived at YPF with the conviction that a growth agenda had to be resumed.
It was not easy to get out of the situation we were in and go through a pandemic that forced us to put ourselves at the service of Argentina despite the fact that the scenario for the energy companies was very discouraging.
But we did. With a lot of effort, we achieved the growth that we set out to guide us.
We have a very ambitious plan for this year with investments of 3.7 billion dollars that allow us to project an 8% growth in production, which will mean the highest organic growth in the last 25 years.
But, beyond these highly relevant data, YPF has a huge future ahead of it as an oil and gas producer, accelerating the development of Vaca Muerta and promoting offshore production in the Argentine Sea that will undoubtedly reconfigure the country’s economy.
But also, thinking about the future, we are convinced that we have to work on the energy transition. YPF Luz is key in that strategy. Today it is already the second largest generator of renewables in the country with three wind farms in operation and the construction of a solar park in San Juan. We created YPF Lithium to play a relevant role in the development of the value chain of this key mineral for electric mobility; and we are leading research in hydrogen. Our partnership with Conicet at Y-TEC is key to thinking about the energies of the future.
YPF turns 100 years old and we are taking the steps to start designing the company of the future. A more environmentally sustainable company in oil and gas production; that leads the energy transition and thinks of that customer of tomorrow who demands new ways of consuming and relating to its flagship company.
100 years where we should feel proud as Argentines of YPF and of the leadership position it occupies. Here’s to 100 more years of this company so closely linked to the country and its development.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
