YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales) is the Argentine state oil institution which, in the far south, also lodges, pays for and opens doors for newcomers. Even those not of YPF depend on it.
| Type | State oil institution |
| Region | Río Gallegos area |
| Spanish entry | YPF |
Description
Its “official letterhead” works as a credential; with it and the belief people have in it (“must have a belief in YPF”) it moves shipyards and fishing-boat crews. A researcher arriving in the south enters through YPF and falls under its calendar and bosses.
Sites
- The Río Gallegos office, with a counter and someone who “receives people”.
- Other dependencies “in multiple dependencies in the Río Gallegos area”, lodging “employees or YPF people”.
- The Punta Loyola base, the operational center.
An office employee said: “Yo soy administrativo, yo nunca voy ahí.” (“I’m an administrative worker, I never go there”), meaning the field. YPF pays lodging at the Hotel in Río Gallegos for those who come on their own.
Role
- Oil: geological prospecting and exploration in the southern territories.
- Messages: on arrival, messages from one’s bosses are already waiting at the office.
- Intermediation: “YPF can help you with the Argentine University”, unblocking researchers’ leave paperwork.
Open questions
- The look and number of its sites; who and where the bosses are.
- What the field work prospects for, and with what means.
- What YPF gains for paying hotels and unblocking leave.