Oil & Gas
Pampa Energía has 800 megawatts (MW) of power generation available for a data center in Vaca Muerta, Chairman Marcelo Mindlin said during Argentina Week in Paris.
Mindlin presented the growing power demand of artificial intelligence (AI) as a new way to add value to gas from the Vaca Muerta formation, one of the world's largest shale plays, located in Argentina's Neuquen Basin. Pampa, a diversified Argentine energy company, made the pitch at Argentina Week, a three-day investor forum organized by Argentina's embassy in France and the presidency to court European capital.
The company already adds value to its gas through two businesses. Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS), Argentina's main southern gas pipeline operator, in which Pampa holds a co-controlling stake, processes natural gas liquids (NGLs). The second is a urea plant now moving to construction.
"At Pampa we already have 800 MW of power generation available for a data center in Vaca Muerta. Just as we are adding value to gas through TGS's liquids processing and our urea plant, we have the opportunity to go one step further: using that energy to supply the growing demand from artificial intelligence and develop a new industry in Argentina," Mindlin said in a company statement.
The urea plant is Fértil Pampa, a $2.7 billion complex the company will build in Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires province, Argentina's main industrial port and the hub of its petrochemical complex. Pampa's board approved the final investment decision (FID) in July. The complex will have one ammonia train of 3,450 tonnes per day (t/d) and two urea trains of 3,000 t/d each, with Vaca Muerta gas as the main feedstock.
Data Center Power Demand Is Set to More Than Double
Power supply is one of the main constraints on AI growth. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that data centers consumed about 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024, close to 1.5% of global electricity, and projects that figure will reach about 945 TWh by 2030, with AI as the main driver.
In the United States alone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that data center consumption could rise from 176 TWh in 2023 to between 325 TWh and 580 TWh by 2028. Pampa said electricity accounts for 40–60% of a data center's operating costs, which makes abundant, competitive and reliable power a decisive factor in where the facilities are built.
Gas at the Source and a Regulatory Regime Already in Place
Pampa argues that Vaca Muerta is well suited to data centers because of its abundant gas, the ability to generate electricity at competitive prices, and the availability of resources and infrastructure. The proposal is to convert Vaca Muerta gas into the power AI requires, adding value to the resource at the source.
Argentina's regulatory framework already provides for this kind of load. The XDEM regime for large electricity consumers requires each application to include a Special Supply Plan with at least 80% new energy production and, for data centers, physical backup from new firm capacity equal to 115% of consumption.
Own Gas and Generation Underpin the Plan
Pampa is one of the main gas producers in Vaca Muerta and Argentina's largest private power generator. The company said it is also one of the few that already has both power and land available for a large-scale data center in Argentina.
In the second quarter of 2026, Pampa produced 14.3 million cubic meters per day (MMm³/d) of gas, including a record 7.4 MMm³/d at its Sierra Chata block in Neuquen province, while its power generation grew 14% year on year.
Pampa said the new activity could attract investment, create skilled jobs, open opportunities for Argentine suppliers and professionals, and generate additional hard-currency revenue for the country.