Leaving Brazil...

[benjio]

What types of negative experiences did you have? 

Nothing as crucial as outright bigotry or racial slurs but definitely noticeable differences in how I was treated compared to white people. The staring while I was in public was annoying. I didn't get many disapproving looks but I could always tell that people were surprised to see someone black in affluent areas. It has always been difficult for me to get a taxi there. Dozens of empty taxis will pass me by each time I try. Once a taxi driver that wasn't paying attention stopped and when he realized I was black he drove off. The first time I was in BA I wanted to try out Argentinian Beef so I asked someone at the hotel's front desk where the best steakhouse in the area was. When I got there the hostess completely ignored me. As a matter of fact she sat several groups of people while I waited in the front for 30 minutes. I went to another steakhouse and they put me in a booth at the back of the restaurant so no one could see I was there. We passed by dozens of perfectly good tables before I was sat down. When I asked about sitting at another table I was told everything else was reserved. I probably sat in that place 2 hours drinking cocktails and eating and only 2 or 3 more parties showed up. I can't get any service in stores...I'm completely ignored. I walked into the sauna at the hotel and everyone inside got up and left all of a sudden. Just a lot of little things.

[fathertime]

Nothing as crucial as outright bigotry or racial slurs but definitely noticeable differences in how I was treated compared to white people. The staring while I was in public was annoying. I didn't get many disapproving looks but I could always tell that people were surprised to see someone black in affluent areas. It has always been difficult for me to get a taxi there. Dozens of empty taxis will pass me by each time I try. Once a taxi driver that wasn't paying attention stopped and when he realized I was black he drove off. The first time I was in BA I wanted to try out Argentinian Beef so I asked someone at the hotel's front desk where the best steakhouse in the area was. When I got there the hostess completely ignored me. As a matter of fact she sat several groups of people while I waited in the front for 30 minutes. I went to another steakhouse and they put me in a booth at the back of the restaurant so no one could see I was there. We passed by dozens of perfectly good tables before I was sat down. When I asked about sitting at another table I was told everything else was reserved. I probably sat in that place 2 hours drinking cocktails and eating and only 2 or 3 more parties showed up. I can't get any service in stores...I'm completely ignored. I walked into the sauna at the hotel and everyone inside got up and left all of a sudden. Just a lot of little things.

Sounds pretty bad.  You can't be blamed for having no interest in returning.

Fathertime!

[mambocowboy]

Nothing as crucial as outright bigotry or racial slurs but definitely noticeable differences in how I was treated compared to white people. The staring while I was in public was annoying. I didn't get many disapproving looks but I could always tell that people were surprised to see someone black in affluent areas. It has always been difficult for me to get a taxi there. Dozens of empty taxis will pass me by each time I try. Once a taxi driver that wasn't paying attention stopped and when he realized I was black he drove off. The first time I was in BA I wanted to try out Argentinian Beef so I asked someone at the hotel's front desk where the best steakhouse in the area was. When I got there the hostess completely ignored me. As a matter of fact she sat several groups of people while I waited in the front for 30 minutes. I went to another steakhouse and they put me in a booth at the back of the restaurant so no one could see I was there. We passed by dozens of perfectly good tables before I was sat down. When I asked about sitting at another table I was told everything else was reserved. I probably sat in that place 2 hours drinking cocktails and eating and only 2 or 3 more parties showed up. I can't get any service in stores...I'm completely ignored. I walked into the sauna at the hotel and everyone inside got up and left all of a sudden. Just a lot of little things.

That is pretty bad stuff. You must have thick skin to consider those minor things...

[benjio]

That is pretty bad stuff. You must have thick skin to consider those minor things...

Mambo,


I grew up in Texas. It gets so much worse in the south of the U.S.

[utopiacowboy]

Mambo,


I grew up in Texas. It gets so much worse in the south of the U.S.

Curious if you experienced the same type of stuff in Texas and if so, what parts?

[benjio]

Curious if you experienced the same type of stuff in Texas and if so, what parts?

LOL!!!! Texas is just like Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Deep south, good ol' boys throwing the "N" word around like you win a dollar everytime you say it. I guess my worse experience was in East Texas while I was in high school. I won't say the name of the town or school but we were playing a football team out of district during the playoffs in 1997. Trash talk is normal on the field and it can get pretty personal. Especially if an opposing player has done some research on you by reading newspapers, high school football magazines and scouting reports. Their team was all white and I swear every other word we heard out of their mouths was n*gger. It got to the point where our head coach ask the ref was he going to do anything about it. I'll never forget what he said. "What do I do? Call a racism penalty?" The ref was obviously not too fond of black people either because we lost that game on some BS penalties and got kicked out of the playoffs. 

[Elexpatriado]

LOL!!!! Texas is just like Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Deep south, good ol' boys throwing the "N" word around like you win a dollar everytime you say it. I guess my worse experience was in East Texas while I was in high school. I won't say the name of the town or school but we were playing a football team out of district during the playoffs in 1997. Trash talk is normal on the field and it can get pretty personal. Especially if an opposing player has done some research on you by reading newspapers, high school football magazines and scouting reports. Their team was all white and I swear every other word we heard out of their mouths was n*gger. It got to the point where our head coach ask the ref was he going to do anything about it. I'll never forget what he said. "What do I do? Call a racism penalty?" The ref was obviously not too fond of black people either because we lost that game on some BS penalties and got kicked out of the playoffs.

Hmmm. I sometimes wonder if these people will ever change..good to see you don't have a  chip in your shoulder because of this kinda crap Benjio..

[bcc_1_2]

It sounds like an extra hurdle. An American is going to pick a country that has good relations/feelings towards us generally. But on top of that if you are black you've got to pick a country where you aren't treated in the manner described by benjio. Argentina doesn't sound like the place. Mexico isn't the place. Maybe if Honduras was safer that'd be an ideal hang out.  Right now Brazil and Colombia are probably his ideal hang outs. It's just something as a white guy not from the deep south... we don't put much thought into. The treatment described in Argentina would drive me bonkers. And to find out parts of the USA (even if it is the predictable parts) is even worse is disappointing. Not shocking, but still disappointing.


Maybe Brazil is the best destination for benjio. I've heard plenty of Colombianas be very open regarding their distaste for black men. I didn't hear so much in Costa Rica. Actually the main thing there is that they look down on those from Nicaragua. Part of it is culture and class I know. So when an affluent black gringo comes to town it must shake things up.


There is a pretty good video on the history of Latin America that will give a very basic analysis of why Latin America is the way it is. Basically it's a verbal Latin America for Dummies. The Pope declared the natives of Latin America to be human, and those of African descent/blood to be non-human. And that's probably the start of poor treatment of black people in Latin America.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hrLlwmVugw

[Awesome]

Once again benjio over exaggerating stuff.  I'm the same age and grew up in the same areas and I've never seen this extreme racism that benjio is mentioning.  I played football against some small town teams, dickinson, brazosport, clute, alvin, league city and I never heard anyone being called the n word.  Even santa fe, a small town known for having the kkk, the n word is isn't tolerated in school sports, that I know of.


On another note benjio if you love brazil and your brazilian girlfriend so much why not just start your own it consulting outfit?  What's stopping you?  If I were you I'd do it in heartbeat, without even thinking twice.

[Elexpatriado]

Sorry I didnt get back to you earlier..
This article at the bottom  kind of explains it.
Basically, if the oil compnies werent investing in Latin America (other than Colombia) at $100 a barrel, why would they do it at $60 a barrel?
Why would they invest in Argentina with the nuttyNationalistic  Kirchner regime in power, bring all the rigs . frac units and personnel over from Texas and North Dakota (shale oil is very drilling and facility intensive, and the technology manpower only currentlyexists in North America), when over half the rigs have been mothballed in the last 6 months, all the workers laid off, and working in other industries..power plants, petrochemical plants,refineries ? From a highly skilled , efficient and motivated work force, and industry operating in a stable, supportive political environment that has increased production by over 4 million barrrels a day over the last 5 years , while Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela , Mexicvo and Argentina all had production drops?
As far as the Russians go, it is only BS and bluster. They have been" investing " in Venezuela for years, and the only thing that has resulted is a lot of exchanges of "suitcases".
And forget the Chinese..they are maxed out and extremely jaded with Latin America..they are filled up with Loans and guarantees to Venezuela , Ecuador and Brazil.and already have guaranteed supplies from these countries, and addition, have a guarantted cheap source of oil from the Saudis who are investing in Refinery joint ventures in China.
My prediction is it will be a generation, if ever, before you see any major production from the Argentina shale fields, and for sure not in the next 5 years.
That doesnt do Benji any good, even if he wanted to go there.
He´´s an It guy anyway, and his skllesare easily transfereable to other industries
 
I worked for Chevron in Venezuela and they can turn off the tap in an instant.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html
 
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html
 

Hey Expat,


I'm no oil expert, just own a couple oil stocks which is why the article popped up this morning.  They did throw around some very large numbers like this though:



Argentina is home to 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 802 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, primarily in and around multiple prolific shale basins in the central Neuquen province, including the prized Vaca Muerta shale.

According to Business Insider, Vaca Muerta alone represents 40% of the country's shale gas resources and 60% of its shale oil. Moreover, the basin is in the Neuquen province, which is at the core of Argentina's production history and where the necessary infrastructure for oil production is already present.

For investors who are looking to get in on this before the shale boom explodes, there is really only one way to do so without getting involved with the international supermajors, such as ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), which has made two major discoveries on its Vaca Muerta acreage, and Chevron (NYSE: CVX), which is expected to have over 300 wells in production by the end of 2015 in a joint venture with Argentina’s YPF.




Being that you worked in the Oil industry, what do you make of all this?


Thanks,


Fathertime! 

[Elexpatriado]

But then I did miss something..the Argentine governmant has guaranteed $75 a barrel until internal energy deficit is met. So if it continues, you could see some action there until the internal consumption deficitof a couple 100,000 a day is met..but no multi million barrel change like in the US shale fields
I guess Chevron is still investing there. Does Benji work for Chevron?
 
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/04/plunging-oil-prices-wont-kill-vaca-muerta/
 

Sorry I didnt get back to you earlier..
This article at the bottom  kind of explains it.
Basically, if the oil compnies werent investing in Latin America (other than Colombia) at $100 a barrel, why would they do it at $60 a barrel?
Why would they invest in Argentina with the nuttyNationalistic  Kirchner regime in power, bring all the rigs . frac units and personnel over from Texas and North Dakota (shale oil is very drilling and facility intensive, and the technology manpower only currentlyexists in North America), when over half the rigs have been mothballed in the last 6 months, all the workers laid off, and working in other industries..power plants, petrochemical plants,refineries ? From a highly skilled , efficient and motivated work force, and industry operating in a stable, supportive political environment that has increased production by over 4 million barrrels a day over the last 5 years , while Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela , Mexicvo and Argentina all had production drops?
As far as the Russians go, it is only BS and bluster. They have been" investing " in Venezuela for years, and the only thing that has resulted is a lot of exchanges of "suitcases".
And forget the Chinese..they are maxed out and extremely jaded with Latin America..they are filled up with Loans and guarantees to Venezuela , Ecuador and Brazil.and already have guaranteed supplies from these countries, and addition, have a guarantted cheap source of oil from the Saudis who are investing in Refinery joint ventures in China.
My prediction is it will be a generation, if ever, before you see any major production from the Argentina shale fields, and for sure not in the next 5 years.
That doesnt do Benji any good, even if he wanted to go there.
He´´s an It guy anyway, and his skllesare easily transfereable to other industries
 
I worked for Chevron in Venezuela and they can turn off the tap in an instant.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html
 
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html

[fathertime]

Sorry I didnt get back to you earlier..
This article at the bottom  kind of explains it.
Basically, if the oil compnies werent investing in Latin America (other than Colombia) at $100 a barrel, why would they do it at $60 a barrel?
Why would they invest in Argentina with the nuttyNationalistic  Kirchner regime in power, bring all the rigs . frac units and personnel over from Texas and North Dakota (shale oil is very drilling and facility intensive, and the technology manpower only currentlyexists in North America), when over half the rigs have been mothballed in the last 6 months, all the workers laid off, and working in other industries..power plants, petrochemical plants,refineries ? From a highly skilled , efficient and motivated work force, and industry operating in a stable, supportive political environment that has increased production by over 4 million barrrels a day over the last 5 years , while Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela , Mexicvo and Argentina all had production drops?
As far as the Russians go, it is only BS and bluster. They have been" investing " in Venezuela for years, and the only thing that has resulted is a lot of exchanges of "suitcases".
And forget the Chinese..they are maxed out and extremely jaded with Latin America..they are filled up with Loans and guarantees to Venezuela , Ecuador and Brazil.and already have guaranteed supplies from these countries, and addition, have a guarantted cheap source of oil from the Saudis who are investing in Refinery joint ventures in China.
My prediction is it will be a generation, if ever, before you see any major production from the Argentina shale fields, and for sure not in the next 5 years.
That doesnt do Benji any good, even if he wanted to go there.
He´´s an It guy anyway, and his skllesare easily transfereable to other industries
 
I worked for Chevron in Venezuela and they can turn off the tap in an instant.
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html
 
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/05/la-jolla-conference-industry-panel-bullish-on-oil-prices-but-sees-more-suffering-to-come.html

Thanks Expat for the viewpoint, and the followup post.  It looks like Chevron has got some interests in the area.  I imagine that someday "Vaca Muerta" will be important, as it appears there is a tremendous amount of resources there.   


Fathertime! 

[benjio]

Once again benjio over exaggerating stuff.  I'm the same age and grew up in the same areas and I've never seen this extreme racism that benjio is mentioning.  I played football against some small town teams, dickinson, brazosport, clute, alvin, league city and I never heard anyone being called the n word.  Even santa fe, a small town known for having the kkk, the n word is isn't tolerated in school sports, that I know of.

Man....I tell you. I've seen you write some things in the past I thought were a tad inappropriate, but claiming you know what it's like to be black growing up in the south? Alrighty then bro. Farbeit from me to mention that perhaps people's experiences might have been a little different from your own even though we're talking about the same areas of the world. You know what's good about me moving back is we can finally meet up in person and I can prove a lot of this crap you claim I'm always pulling out of my arse. I still keep in touch with plenty of guys I played high school football with. Let's meet up in a bar somewhere and let me see you tell five or more 6' or taller, 250 lbs. or heavier guys their full of [snip]e when they tell you the same story I just wrote here.


And by the way....every single town you named is in South Texas. The school I was speaking of was in East Texas (a tad Northeast to be exact) and you would have realized I mentioned that if you ever read to understand instead of to respond or argue. Entirely different ball game out in that part of Texas though. Ask around. YOU'RE MEXICAN!!!! There's a much greater tolerance for minorities, ESPECIALLY MEXICANS, in southern Texas for obvious reasons. And if you still have a problem believing racism gets much worse in East Texas look up a little town called Vidor then come back here and let everyone know what you found.

On another note benjio if you love brazil and your brazilian girlfriend so much why not just start your own it consulting outfit?  What's stopping you?  If I were you I'd do it in heartbeat, without even thinking twice.

I might have said "easy" in my other post but I meant was it would be easy for me to run it and make a profit once it got going. It's a much more complicated undertaking than just coming down here with a wad of cash and getting started at first though. Starting a business legally in Brazil as an unmarried foreigner is extremely difficult if you don't already have significant assets in the country. It also takes a very long time to get all your paperwork finished up if you don't want to grease the right pockets. And you still usually end up having to grease someone's pockets anyway. I'm talking to some attourneys and tax people here right now about everything it would take to get started. I would list some of the dozens of things I'd have to do but then you'd just say I was exaggerating. We'll see what happens. I tend to look for a while before I leap. Sometimes to my own detriment but that's my personality.

[mambocowboy]

Man....I tell you. I've seen you write some things in the past I thought were a tad inappropriate, but claiming you know what it's like to be black growing up in the south? Alrighty then bro. Farbeit from me to mention that perhaps people's experiences might have been a little different from your own even though we're talking about the same areas of the world. You know what's good about me moving back is we can finally meet up in person and I can prove a lot of this crap you claim I'm always pulling out of my arse. I still keep in touch with plenty of guys I played high school football with. Let's meet up in a bar somewhere and let me see you tell five or more 6' or taller, 250 lbs. or heavier guys their full of [snip]e when they tell you the same story I just wrote here.


And by the way....every single town you named is in South Texas. The school I was speaking of was in East Texas (a tad Northeast to be exact) and you would have realized I mentioned that if you ever read to understand instead of to respond or argue. Entirely different ball game out in that part of Texas though. Ask around. YOU'RE MEXICAN!!!! There's a much greater tolerance for minorities, ESPECIALLY MEXICANS, in southern Texas for obvious reasons. And if you still have a problem believing racism gets much worse in East Texas look up a little town called Vidor then come back here and let everyone know what you found.



I might have said "easy" in my other post but I meant was it would be easy for me to run it and make a profit once it got going. It's a much more complicated undertaking than just coming down here with a wad of cash and getting started at first though. Starting a business legally in Brazil as an unmarried foreigner is extremely difficult if you don't already have significant assets in the country. It also takes a very long time to get all your paperwork finished up if you don't want to grease the right pockets. And you still usually end up having to grease someone's pockets anyway. I'm talking to some attourneys and tax people here right now about everything it would take to get started. I would list some of the dozens of things I'd have to do but then you'd just say I was exaggerating. We'll see what happens. I tend to look for a while before I leap. Sometimes to my own detriment but that's my personality.

Lmfao didn't know Awesome  is an expert on the African American male experience I

[Awesome]

Man....I tell you. I've seen you write some things in the past I thought were a tad inappropriate, but claiming you know what it's like to be black growing up in the south? Alrighty then bro. Farbeit from me to mention that perhaps people's experiences might have been a little different from your own even though we're talking about the same areas of the world. You know what's good about me moving back is we can finally meet up in person and I can prove a lot of this crap you claim I'm always pulling out of my arse. I still keep in touch with plenty of guys I played high school football with. Let's meet up in a bar somewhere and let me see you tell five or more 6' or taller, 250 lbs. or heavier guys their full of [snip]e when they tell you the same story I just wrote here.


And by the way....every single town you named is in South Texas. The school I was speaking of was in East Texas (a tad Northeast to be exact) and you would have realized I mentioned that if you ever read to understand instead of to respond or argue. Entirely different ball game out in that part of Texas though. Ask around. YOU'RE MEXICAN!!!! There's a much greater tolerance for minorities, ESPECIALLY MEXICANS, in southern Texas for obvious reasons. And if you still have a problem believing racism gets much worse in East Texas look up a little town called Vidor then come back here and let everyone know what you found.

Yea I've heard that vidor is known for being racist and having a kkk presence but it's still hard to believe that the kids are allowed to just throw the n word around like that.  Like I said I never experienced hearing those things.  And when I played against those small town schools I mentioned was in 91-92 when I went to junior high in la marque.  Our team had 3 hispanics, 7 white guys and the rest of the team was all black.  After that I moved to the city and my team was still predominantly black players.  Overall racism is very subtle anywhere I go around texas, but I don't hang out in little small country towns in east texas so I'm sure it's a little different there.  But as a white looking hispanic I almost never hear the n word.  And if I do hear it it's most definitely when there aren't any black people around.


But high school football aside, you try to make it seem like texas is some hardcore racist place and that's just not the case.  I go to alot of bars in nice areas and plenty of black people walk right in and hang out and are shown just as much love as anybody else.  Just last week I went to a charity social function organized for employees of Baker Hughes.  These people are all well paid professionals white, black, hispanic, asian and I saw absolutely no type of racial tension.  Everybody was as nice as could be.  There have been periods in my life where all my friends I regularly hung out with were black.  Yea I don't deny that racism occurs, but it's very subtle from my experience.

[benjio]

Yea I've heard that vidor is known for being racist and having a kkk presence but it's still hard to believe that the kids are allowed to just throw the n word around like that. 

But as a white looking hispanic I almost never hear the n word. 

Again...I just don't understand why you'd think you'd have experience with hearing the "N" word and you're not black. It just baffles me why you'd even have an opinion on the subject.

But high school football aside, you try to make it seem like texas is some hardcore racist place and that's just not the case.

I'm really not though man! You just chose to take it that way. I said that was the worst experience of my life in terms of racism....just being call the "N" word by a bunch of rival football players during a game. My father has much worse stories about things that happened to him. There were black guys being hooked to trucks and dragged to death in East Texas around the same time so I'm definitely not trying to say my experience was as bad as it gets. To be honest I've never even had a bad experience with police in Texas. Everytime I've been pulled over or questioned all of them were mutually respectful and never put a hand on me. It kind of surprises me when I hear a someone say they were treated differently by police but I sure as hell don't tell them they're full of $hit like you're doing to me. I was just saying some places in Texas are worse than Argentina so I really wasn't that stirred up about what happened to me in Buenos Aires. READ THE THREAD! I'm not trying to compare it to the 50's in Alabama or anything like that. You think I'd fly the Texas Flag as an avatar if it were that oppresive there?!!! C'mon dude....pay attention to the content of my posts and give a guy the benefit of the doubt before going on the offensive. Read the entire thread before claiming someone is exaggerating about something when there's absolutely no reason to. You're always in this, "let me bust this guy's a$$" mode for no reason and for the most part people are just sharing ideas and experiences here.


Rockets still in there....I BELIEVE!!!!

[bcc_1_2]

Again...I just don't understand why you'd think you'd have experience with hearing the "N" word and you're not black. It just baffles me why you'd even have an opinion on the subject.








I'm really not though man! You just chose to take it that way. I said that was the worst experience of my life in terms of racism....just being call the "N" word by a bunch of rival football players during a game. My father has much worse stories about things that happened to him. There were black guys being hooked to trucks and dragged to death in East Texas around the same time so I'm definitely not trying to say my experience was as bad as it gets. To be honest I've never even had a bad experience with police in Texas. Everytime I've been pulled over or questioned all of them were mutually respectful and never put a hand on me. It kind of surprises me when I hear a someone say they were treated differently by police but I sure as hell don't tell them they're full of $hit like you're doing to me. I was just saying some places in Texas are worse than Argentina so I really wasn't that stirred up about what happened to me in Buenos Aires. READ THE THREAD! I'm not trying to compare it to the 50's in Alabama or anything like that. You think I'd fly the Texas Flag as an avatar if it were that oppresive there?!!! C'mon dude....pay attention to the content of my posts and give a guy the benefit of the doubt before going on the offensive. Read the entire thread before claiming someone is exaggerating about something when there's absolutely no reason to. You're always in this, "let me bust this guy's a$$" mode for no reason and for the most part people are just sharing ideas and experiences here.


Rockets still in there....I BELIEVE!!!!

Hell I was with you til that last sentence. SMH Dwightmare. Not a fan of either team, but the firecrackers are done.

[Awesome]

LOL!!!! Texas is just like Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Deep south, good ol' boys throwing the "N" word around like you win a dollar everytime you say it.

This was the statement I took exception to.  I just don't see it and I haven't seen someone just casually call a black person the n word.  In my life's experience I've seen WAY more black people randomly abusing and insulting white people than I've ever seen whites abusing or insulting blacks.


And as a hispanic person who easily blends in with white people I do hear what racist remarks people have to say when there aren't any black people around.  But I guess now that I'm older and I associate with a more educated class of people I'm witnessing less and less racism.

[benjio]

In my life's experience I've seen WAY more black people randomly abusing and insulting white people than I've ever seen whites abusing or insulting blacks.

I'd have to agree with you there.

[V_Man]

I have read about the difficulties of starting a business in Brazil. It's absurd.
I'd encourage you to start a business but to be honest I'd find Brazil to be too difficult. If you look into it further I would be really interested to know all about it.


In regards to oil and gas in Argentina. I wonder if the folk here are looking at it from a very US point of view. Argentina defaulted on it's debt and the big losers were US companies. This has created problems in Argentina every since and it has put off foreign investors in general. I suspect that it has particularly put off US companies.


However all this is not a big deal compared to other countries that oil companies invest in.


It is wrong to think that only US companies have expertise and capacity for fracking. One of the industries I am involved with here is exactly that and I can assure you that there are companies here and in Europe that also have expertise and currently have a lack of new projects. If US companies hold back then there are plenty of others who will invest. If OPEC allows the oil price to rise again then it could even be that Argentina is selective about which countries they allow to invest. For example they might not like to have a lot of British oil and gas companies working in the area.

[Elexpatriado]

Whats keeping them going is artificially high oil prices ($70 or $75 a barrel) to spur internal production. Currently there is a 400,000 BOPD  shortfall in self suficiency in Argentina. As long as  the incentive remains, Chevron will be there.
 
Fracking  with horizontalwells is very drilling intensive, and to entice the service companies and crews into new areas is a big effort.

But you never know with these countries-can change the rules over night. But this applies in North America too, to a lesser degree.
 
Speaking of Argentina, what ever happened to Gatos trip?

I have read about the difficulties of starting a business in Brazil. It's absurd.
I'd encourage you to start a business but to be honest I'd find Brazil to be too difficult. If you look into it further I would be really interested to know all about it.


In regards to oil and gas in Argentina. I wonder if the folk here are looking at it from a very US point of view. Argentina defaulted on it's debt and the big losers were US companies. This has created problems in Argentina every since and it has put off foreign investors in general. I suspect that it has particularly put off US companies.


However all this is not a big deal compared to other countries that oil companies invest in.


It is wrong to think that only US companies have expertise and capacity for fracking. One of the industries I am involved with here is exactly that and I can assure you that there are companies here and in Europe that also have expertise and currently have a lack of new projects. If US companies hold back then there are plenty of others who will invest. If OPEC allows the oil price to rise again then it could even be that Argentina is selective about which countries they allow to invest. For example they might not like to have a lot of British oil and gas companies working in the area.