MORE BAD NEWS FOR OPEC: Argentina’s Shale Hoping for Cash Windfall.

The shale boom has thus far remained a uniquely American phenomenon (for a long list of reasons), but the issue of other countries replicating that success has always been a question of when, not if. Argentina’s Vaca Muerte formation contains the second-largest reserves of shale gas in the world behind China, and as the WSJ reports, those multitudes of hydrocarbons are attracting the keen interest (and capital) of oil and gas companies. . . .

If and when this cash does start flowing, it will be because Argentina identified its need for market reforms, and followed through on making those necessary changes. We’ve been tracking this story for many years now, and each time we’ve checked in on the Vaca Muerta it’s looked a little bit closer to fulfilling its potential. And progress has been made—labor unions have agreed to up drilling productivity and lower costs, a necessary step for Argentina’s shale ambitions to be fully realized.

But the country’s energy minister is still talking in terms of action two or three years from now, and that means that, for the time being, the United States is going to remain the only real player in the shale game.

I can live with that, too.