Projects with regional impact
In a context of regional energy transformation, Argentina is consolidating its transition from net importer to exporter of natural gas, thanks to the accelerated development of the Vaca Muerta shale formation.
Brazil, facing a decline in Bolivian gas exports and seeking to diversify its energy mix to support industrial growth, has emerged as the natural destination for Argentina’s surplus.
In practice, Argentine gas exports to Brazil are already operational, albeit at modest initial volumes, with significant growth projected through 2030.
The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2024 by Argentine Minister Luis Caputo and Brazilian Minister Alexandre Silveira established a framework to reach up to 30 million cubic meters per day (m³/d) by that horizon, with a working group evaluating multiple routes.
Below is a detailed analysis of the five most relevant initiatives, emphasizing their current operational status, technical details, and prospects.
1. The Bolivian route: the only fully operational pathway in 2025
This is by far the most consolidated route, carrying the entirety of current Argentine gas exports to Brazil.
It leverages the reversal of Argentina’s Gasoducto Norte (completed in 2024) and the idle capacity of the Bolivia-Brazil pipeline (Gasbol), which has a nominal capacity of 30 million m³/d.
Initial operations began in April 2025: TotalEnergies made the inaugural shipment of 500,000 m³/d to Matrix Energía, followed by Tecpetrol (up to 250,000 m³/d), Pluspetrol, and other producers. Petrobras also carried out direct imports from Vaca Muerta. Bolivia serves as a transit country, charging a fee, and YPFB has facilitated the aggregation of volumes.
By December 2025, average volumes were estimated between 2 and 5 million m³/d, mainly under interruptible contracts, though pilot firm contracts already exist. This route is the most cost-effective because it uses existing infrastructure and represents the bulk of current energy integration. Projections indicate it could scale to 10–15 million m³/d in the coming years, provided compression and connections are optimized.
2. Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding: the strategic framework enabling all routes
Signed in November 2024 during the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, this government agreement is the institutional pillar of gas integration. It establishes a permanent working group to evaluate infrastructure, regulations, and alternative routes, with the explicit goal of exporting up to 30 million m³/d by 2030.
The memorandum has been fully operational since its signing and directly catalyzed the initial exports via Bolivia. It facilitates interruptible, firm, and emergency operations, prioritizing price competitiveness and Brazilian diversification. In 2025, it drove regulatory reviews and export permits, laying the groundwork for long-term contracts.
Recent updates indicate that Brazil and Argentina are close to an additional agreement on natural gas trade, with initial volumes of 2 million m³/d already flowing from Vaca Muerta and plans to expand supply and reduce costs. Petrobras made its first import of unconventional gas from Argentina in October 2025, marking a milestone under this framework. The memorandum itself is not a physical route but coordinates and enables the other options, with progress toward more specific agreements by September 2025.
3. The GásBra project: the most ambitious private initiative for a direct connection
Led by the Brazilian consortium GásBra (including major industrial consumers in São Paulo such as Garantía Capital Ltd. and Transportadora Sulbrasileira de Gás – TSB), this project proposes a fully integrated scheme: upstream production in Vaca Muerta plus a dedicated 1,630 km pipeline to Uruguaiana (Argentina-Brazil border) with a capacity of 30 million m³/d.
The estimated investment is around $7 billion in Argentina alone ($2.5 billion upstream and $4.5 billion infrastructure). The consortium seeks a 30-year firm export permit, similar to those granted to LNG projects under the RIGI law.
Currently, the project is in an advanced structuring phase: after key meetings with Neuquén Governor Rolando Figueroa, including a visit by executives led by CEO Marco Maia, the parties set a six-month timeline to finalize the project.
A financial trust managed by Brazilian banks is planned to fund the investments. This route would be complemented by the priority Brazilian extension under the EPE (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética) plan: a 593 km, 24-inch pipeline from Uruguaiana to Triunfo/Porto Alegre (initial capacity 15 million m³/d, pressure 75 kgf/cm²), considered the most mature option for direct imports without third countries.
Still greenfield and not operational, it represents the most concrete private bet for medium-term massive volumes, avoiding bottlenecks in existing routes and positioning Brazilian industrial buyers as direct customers.
4. The bi-oceanic route via Paraguay: the trinational alternative under study
Paraguay is actively promoting itself as an energy hub, proposing a roughly 1,050 km pipeline along the Bi-Oceanic Road Corridor: from the reversed Gasoducto Norte (530 km through Paraguay’s flat Chaco region) to Carmelo Peralta, then connecting to Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul, near São Paulo).
In 2025, bilateral memorandums were signed (Paraguay-Brazil in February, Paraguay-Argentina in July), and a trinational working group was created. Estimated investment is $1.9–2.0 billion, with an initial capacity of 10–15 million m³/d, expandable to 30. Still in feasibility and pre-feasibility studies, this route is not operational but is advancing as a competitive option for the São Paulo market, with road synergies and lower geopolitical exposure than the Bolivian route.
5. LNG exports: the flexible maritime path for global scale
Complementing pipelines, floating liquefaction (FLNG) projects are underway to export by sea to multiple Brazilian regasification terminals from Argentina.
The consortium Southern Energy (PAE, Pampa, YPF, Harbour, Golar) made a final investment decision in 2025 for two FLNG vessels in Río Negro, with operations expected in 2027–2028 and initial capacity of 6–12 MTPA.
YPF-ENI-ADNOC and other projects (Camuzzi, LNG del Plata) project total capacity of 24–28 MTPA by 2030. In December 2025, several received 30-year export authorizations under RIGI, though no shipments are yet operational (first stage under construction).
This route offers flexibility for larger volumes and access to global markets, albeit with higher logistical costs than pipelines. Brazil, with growing LNG demand, is a natural destination. Recently, Southern Energy signed an agreement with a German state-owned company to export LNG starting in 2027.
Other basins beyond the Neuquén Basin
While the Neuquén Basin (with Vaca Muerta at its core) dominates Argentine gas production, accounting for more than 70% of the national total (~115–120 MMm³/d in 2025), other basins contribute the remainder.
Notably, the Austral Basin (mainly offshore in Tierra del Fuego and Santa Cruz) produces roughly 27–29 MMm³/d, boosted by the Fénix project; the Golfo San Jorge Basin (Chubut and northern Santa Cruz) contributes 9–10 MMm³/d; and smaller volumes come from the Northwest (Salta, Jujuy) and Cuyana (Mendoza) basins, with 3–4 MMm³/d and less than 1 MMm³/d, respectively.
Although some are declining due to mature fields, they remain key for domestic supply.
The Austral Basin deserves special attention for its recent growth and export potential. Operated mainly by TotalEnergies (with partners Pan American Energy and Harbour Energy), it saw a significant increase with the Fénix offshore project in 2024–2025, adding ~10 MMm³/d from platforms off Tierra del Fuego.
This positions it as the second-largest basin (~18–20% of national gas), with stable production focused on conventional and developing nonconventional fields. All basins beyond Neuquén—including Austral, Golfo San Jorge, Northwest, and Cuyana—feed into the national pipeline system (operated by TGS and TGN), allowing gas to flow north and, since 2025, be exported to Brazil via the reversed Bolivian route (Gasoducto Norte and connections like Madrejones or Juana Azurduy).
Operators such as TotalEnergies have shipped gas from the Austral Basin, while other basins could do so under similar permits, leveraging existing infrastructure and Bolivian idle capacity to reach Brazil’s industrial market.