Argentina courts order release of Vaca Muerta seismic data

Argentina's federal Chamber of Appeals ruled that the state must provide detailed seismic information for the Neuquén Basin and the Vaca Muerta formation. The court instructed the National Institute of Seismic Prevention (INPRES) and the Argentine Geological Survey (SEGEMAR) to supply complete records of earthquakes and tremors recorded since 2012, including location, depth, magnitude and date.

The decision follows a request by the environmental NGO Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), which argues that more than 644 seismic events linked to hydraulic fracturing since 2013 have damaged houses and harmed communities. FARN cited the Access to Public Environmental Information Law, the general Access to Public Information Law and the Escazú Agreement to challenge INPRES’s initial refusal, which was based on a confidentiality agreement with the province of Neuquén. The judges rejected the confidentiality claim, emphasizing constitutional and international treaty rights to information. The ruling aims to enable public scrutiny of the environmental risks associated with fracking in the country’s main unconventional hydrocarbon region.