Argentina is one of South America’s largest economies. Argentina’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.4 percent in 2006 and 7.9 percent in 2007. This high level of economic growth has led to a corresponding increase in the demand for energy, especially natural gas. In contrast to the increase in demand, domestic production of oil and natural gas have stagnated and exports have declined. The imbalance between rising domestic energy demand and falling energy production has reportedly lead to sporadic shortages of electricity and natural gas, such as in June 2007, when the country experienced unusually-cold weather.