Argentina makes progress on LNG dream

Eni is joining the first phase of the 30mt/yr ARGLNG, while consortium behind the smaller Southern Energy LNG has reached FID

Argentina’s aspirations to become a global LNG exporter are steadily gaining traction, following an agreement on 6 June between Italy’s Eni and Argentine state oil company YPF. Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale gas formation contains some 8.7tcm of gas, but the resource is heavily underutilised, with output coming to only around 23.4bcm last year, although this is still close to half of Argentina’s overall production. The primary constraint remains evacuation capacity. Efforts are underway to expand pipeline infrastructure to address this problem. In July 2023, Argentina inaugurated the first 11mcm/d phase of the President Nestor Kirchner pipeline—since renamed Perito Moreno—enabling increased s