Alfredo Cornejo bets on IMPSA to bring Mendoza into Vaca Muerta's value chain
Mendoza Governor Alfredo Cornejo shared a panel with Rolando Figueroa (Neuquén) and Alberto Weretilneck (Río Negro) at the X Italy-Latin America SMEs Forum 2026 in Buenos Aires, under the title "Energy for development: investment, industry and value chains. From Vaca Muerta to the world".
IMPSA, the connector between manufacturing and energy
The most concrete development for the regional supply chain: IMPSA's recovery is reactivating certification of Mendoza's metalworking shops to resume production of components for the company. Cornejo stated that this installed capacity enables Mendoza's industry to integrate with Neuquén's operations, in both conventional and unconventional oil—a potential shared supplier chain between both oil provinces. "This is also important for our metalworking SMEs, because all the workshops around IMPSA are being re-certified to be able to produce," he said.
Rolando Figueroa, governor of Neuquén, together with his peers Alfredo Cornejo and Alberto Weretilneck, from Mendoza and Río Negro.
To clarify: the governor's proposed link is between IMPSA and Neuquén's oil industry, not mining suppliers. The integration of mining with the metalworking chain appears on the agenda as a separate objective, still without the same level of concrete progress.
Vaca Muerta, Mendoza version: five wells underway
Cornejo confirmed that there are five wells being drilled in the southern part of the province, three of them operated by YPF, with work scheduled for September and October. The underlying bet is more ambitious: to extend Vaca Muerta development toward the so-called "Northern tongue" of the formation, which shares rock and geology with deposits in Neuquén and Río Negro.
The vehicle for that turnaround was the Andes Plan, the framework through which the province reorganized conventional oil areas and brought in new operators. According to the governor, the tool has already helped reverse the declining trend in conventional production, after years of sustained decline.
Critical minerals: one approved project and exploration underway
On mining, Cornejo was direct about the sector's diagnosis at the national level: "Argentina is a country with minerals, but not a mining country." For Mendoza, however, he emphasized that there is already an approved exploration project and multiple ventures in the exploration stage, run by first-tier companies, focused on critical minerals—the key inputs for batteries, electronics and energy transition.
The framework he proposed is not just extractive: it seeks to integrate mining activity into value chains already established in the province, particularly metalworking, as well as agribusiness and food and beverages.
"Energy for development: investment, industry and value chains. From Vaca Muerta to the world," the event organized by the X Italy-Latin America SMEs Forum 2026.
The political backdrop: continuity beyond terms in office
Cornejo framed the entire package—energy, mining, Vaca Muerta, IMPSA—as decisions that exceed the electoral calendar: "Both energy and mining constitute a generational mandate that must transcend political cycles." And he was explicit about timelines: "Even if results are not seen during my own term, we are doing what Argentina has to do."
Mercosur-EU, another front to watch
Cornejo also mentioned the Mercosur-European Union agreement as a window of opportunity for three fronts with direct impact on Mendoza: agribusiness, energy and critical minerals. This is data to monitor for the province's export sector, as the agreement's implementation advances.