Santa Cruz Minister addresses YPF environmental liabilities

Jaime Álvarez, the Minister of Energy and Mining for Santa Cruz, has addressed opposition criticism regarding the assessment of environmental liabilities left by YPF. Álvarez stated that the company has assumed responsibility for the remediation of these sites following its departure from certain areas.

The assessment process involved a six-month study conducted by professionals from the Cricyt Foundation, many of whom are associated with CONICET. This work was audited by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Buenos Aires (FIUBA) alongside provincial technical teams. Álvarez emphasized the scale of the task, noting that YPF has an 82-year history in the northern flank of the province, involving eleven concessions and thousands of hectares and wells.

Defending the timeline, Álvarez argued that critics are demanding in six months what was not addressed over the previous 31 years. He suggested that if existing legislation had been enforced by various political administrations between 1991 and 2023, these environmental liabilities would not currently exist.