The fractured land of Patagonia
Vaca Muerta era una tierra de oportunidades, el primer desarrollo de fracking en América Latina. Una veintena de empresas llegaron a perforar el suelo y fracturarlo día y noche. Debajo yacía una promesa descomunal: millones de metros cúbicos de gas, millones de barriles de petróleo, miles de millones de dólares. Cerca de ahí, en Sauzal Bonito, las oportunidades se convirtieron en un tembladeral. Sus habitantes sufren enjambres sísmicos que no tienen explicación.
Vaca Muerta was a land of opportunity, the first fracking development in Latin America. Some twenty companies came to drill the ground and frack it day and night. Underneath lay an enormous promise: millions of cubic meters of gas, millions of barrels of oil, billions of dollars. Nearby, in Sauzal Bonito, opportunities became a tremor. Its inhabitants suffer unexplained seismic swarms.
With the support of Gatopardo
Village of Sauzal Bonito, January 6, 2023. Eufemia Zapata is 96 years old. She is one of the oldest settlers. She has 11 children, 50 grandchildren, and she doesn't know how many great-grandchildren. She has lived in the house since she arrived in the area with her husband (who died at the age of 49). They took 10 hectares of land and turned it into a farm. Today, she grows apricots, cherries and pumpkins. She also raises chickens.
View of María Mabel Panero's new earthquake-proof house, from her collapsed former home.
Lorena Sandoval at the home of her mother, Mabel Panero.
Mabel Panero, owner of a small market and a collapsed house, where she poses for a photo. She has had an earthquake-resistant house built for her by the government for a few months. She shows a crack in her old house.
Oil company water pipes on the side of Route 17, between Añelo and the Neuquén River. Since 2015, Sauzal Bonito has shaken four hundred times, or one episode per week. But averages can be deceptive: during the Covid-19 pandemic, which paralyzed the world and work, there was not a single movement in the fields. On the contrary, on a single day, May 9, 2022, the earth shook thirty-six times here.
the Neuquén River at Sauzal Bonito.
a newspaper clipping showing the remains of their old house, which suffered the consequences of the earthquakes, hangs on the wall of the new one.
Oil installations in the Vaca Muerta area. Sauzal Bonito is a town located very close to there.
Andrés Durán, a 52 year old former oilman. He owns a farm and raises animals. His adobe house is in ruins, and now he has another one under construction.
A maize corn hangs on a wall of Andrés Durán's house. Due to the scarcity of water it is difficult to grow corn, but he hopes to resume this activity soon.
Noemí Painemil waters her garden.
Noemí Painemil, former municipal employee. She is the owner, together with her husband, Carlos Pérez, of the Siete Ángeles market. Both are retired. Right: Carlos Pérez, former oilman, husband of Noemí Painemil. The farm where they live was bought by Carlos to give to his mother.
Carlos Pérez, Noemi's husband
The Vaca Muerta area, where unconventional oil and gas are being exploited, 41 kilometers from Sauzal Bonito.