Equinor’s first deep-water exploration well in Argentine Sea comes up dry

Last week brought great news for the climate and nature as Equinor announced the results from its long-anticipated first deep-water exploration well offshore Argentina. The well showed no clear signs of hydrocarbons and was deemed dry.

The news was welcomed by environmental organizations and civil society who have long protested against Equinors activities. Equinors plans contradict climate science and the wishes of the local movements. The company is also wasting considerable amounts of money on fossil fuels exploration which the world neither needs nor has room for if we are to limit the worst consequences of the climate crisis. In 2023, Equinor spent nearly 800 million USD on exploring for new oil and gas worldwide.

Read more about Equinor’s offshore exploration in the Argentine Sea here.

Equinor is involved in offshore exploration and harmful fracking activities

Equinor is one of the companies that obtained the most licenses in the first offshore licensing round in Argentina conducted in 2018/2019. The company has also been involved in on-shore fracking of shale oil and gas in Vaca Muerta since 2017, a dirty and dangerous technique to extract oil and gas. Fracking operations in Vaca Muerta make people ill and are destroying the land. Fracking chemicals are poisoning people’s drinking water, farmland and harvest. The Indigenous Mapuche people are severely impacted by the dirty megaproject.

Read more about Equinor’s fracking activities here.

Equinor is ignoring climate science

Both the UN and the International Energy Agency have determined that there is no room for any new oil and gas projects if we are to reach the 1.5 degree target. Nevertheless, Equinor is leading the fossil fuel industry in opening a new frontier of fossil fuel exploration in the Argentine Sea. This not only fuels the climate crisis, but takes place in a very important area for many vulnerable species, and could have severe consequences for local coastal communities dependent on income from tourism and fishing.

Get involved

Based in Argentina? Find out more about the campaign against Equinor's offshore exploration here.