Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales and the search for local technology in catalysis (1959-1986)

Abstract

This paper deals with how a state enterprise such as Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF) [State Oilfields], conducted scientific and technological research in order to deepen the knowledge of the catalysts used in their distilleries. The latter were associated with a project that sought to develop national technology. This initiative ended in 1980 with the signature of an agreement between YPF and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral for the production of a national catalyst. This paper shows that an account of this quest needs to consider ideological elements as much as intrinsic technical features of catalysis research, deeply entrenched to the oil industry. This work points out that while the technological developments were limited, notwithstanding this trajectory presented a dynamic characterized by the accumulation of knowledge, the growth of the research groups, the interaction of diverse institutions and the organization of scientific meetings