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Source: ExxonMobil Weighs Offers for Argentina Shale Assets

FILE PHOTO: ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Source: ExxonMobil Weighs Offers for Argentina Shale Assets

FILE PHOTO: ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: ExxonMobil logo is seen in this illustration taken, October 6, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

US energy giant ExxonMobil Corp is weighing offers for its oil and gas assets in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale region, a source familiar with the plan said on Friday, adding there was no time frame for a decision and the sale may not move forward.
Bloomberg earlier on Friday reported that ExxonMobil was exploring a $1 billion sale of its shale assets in the South American country, a process that started last year.
"The process began in August, it continues to advance and the offers are being evaluated," the source said, asking not to be named as the matter was confidential. The person added that the firm had received offers earlier this month.
"At the beginning of February they presented binding offers. There is no time or due date to provide a response to say how the operation continues. They are being evaluated by the shareholders," the source said.
Earlier this week, Mexican firm Vista Energy , Argentina's second-largest shale oil producer behind state-owned YPF, publicly expressed its interest in Exxon's Vaca Muerta assets.
"They have interesting assets. And yes, we are looking into that," Vista CEO Miguel Galuccio said on a conference call on Wednesday.
Exxon's assets in Argentina include stakes it owns in seven oil-and-gas blocks in Vaca Muerta.
The company declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Reuters.
Argentina, battling an economic crisis, is betting on Vaca Muerta, the world's second-largest shale gas reserve and fourth-largest for shale oil, to turn the country into an energy powerhouse and curb dependence on costly imports.
The source told Reuters that any sale, if it went ahead, would not be a "political" decision but part of a wider portfolio management. It also would not include a large global service center with some 3,000 employees in Buenos Aires, the person added.
Argentina's new right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei is contending with a severe economic crisis, with inflation running at more than 250%, depleted foreign currency reserves, and strict capital controls to defend the peso currency.
The economic crisis has created challenges for companies operating in the country, though the government is making a major push to ramp up investment in Vaca Muerta.

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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."