Regulatory shifts
Argentina’s government has launched a new framework to guarantee gas supply during peak-demand months, under which the import and commercialization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be handled by the private sector through a competitive system.
In an official statement, the government said the measure aims to secure energy supply, streamline price formation and move toward a more transparent market in which the state no longer acts as a direct operator.
Under the plan, Energía Argentina S.A. (ENARSA), the state-owned energy company, will stop importing and marketing LNG, with the process shifting to private operators selected through a competitive mechanism.
New LNG commercialization framework
Until now, the state purchased LNG at international prices ranging between $15 and $17 per MMBtu and then sold it on the domestic market at levels close to the Plan Gas price — a government program designed to incentivize local production — of about $2.70 per MMBtu.
That gap was covered through subsidies financed with public funds.
Under the new framework, state intermediation will be eliminated, transferring commercial and operational responsibility to the private sector. To that end, access to the regasification capacity available at the Escobar terminal, located in Buenos Aires province, will be tendered.
The winning company will be required to import the LNG, regasify it and inject it into the system to supply gas distributors and power generators.
The Secretariat of Energy, which operates under the Economy Ministry, will define the process conditions and operational criteria with the goal of providing predictability to the system. If the procedure fails to deliver satisfactory results, ENARSA may intervene on a temporary basis to prevent supply risks.