Argentine gas exports fall in July

Argentine gas exports contracted 26% year-on-year in July after having doubled in June, according to data from industry regulator Enargas.

Argentina piped 2.88Mm3/d (million cubic meters per day) across its borders in July, after dispatching 5.01Mm3/d in June, which was up 105% from the 2.44Mm3/d logged in June 2022.

In line with an established trend, Chile acquired the bulk, 2.53Mm3/d (down 30%), with Uruguay accounting for the balance of 340,000m3/d (up 24%).

Some parts of the Southern Cone have been experiencing mild temperatures this winter, impacting Argentine demand for natural gas.

Almost all exports to Chile are sent, via the GasAndes duct, to demand hub Santiago metropolitan region. In May, 43.1% of Chile’s imported gas came from Argentina, according to data from Chile’s energy regulator CNE, the rest in the form of LNG from Trinidad & Tobago (39.7%) and the US (17.2%).

Argentine driller and major gas producer Pampa Energía said recently that exports to Chile had driven a 7% year-on-year increase in average gas price it obtained in 2Q23 to US$4.7/MMBTU (million British thermal units). The company is currently authorized to pipe around 1Mm3/d, a results call was told.

As of Monday, 14 gas export authorization requests had been published in August, submitted by drillers Pluspetrol, Total Austral, Tecpetrol, Pampa Energía, Wintershall Dea, Shell, Pan American Sur, Mobil Argentina and YPF. Requests are for authorization to export to Chile – chiefly to power generators – on a firm basis for periods between October 2023 and April 2024, when domestic demand falls in Argentina.

Twenty-three similar requests were filed in July.

Argentine producers have been ramping up production to fill the first phase of the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline, brought into service this quarter. In June, however, national production slid 1% to 138Mm3/d, according to data from think tank the General Mosconi energy institute.

Argentina’s hydrocarbons industry is a key pillar of the economy and the three presidential candidates who will compete for the nation’s top job in October support continued development of the sector.

Source: BN Américas

Read more at: https://www.bnamericas.com/pt/noticias/exportacoes-argentinas-de-gas-caem-em-julho

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