Gas flows between Argentina and Chile to reverse

Argentina will begin exporting its natural gas to Chile by 2018, Minister of Energy and Mining Juan José Aranguren said at an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas meeting in Buenos Aires on Thursday.

“From the summer of 2018/2019, exports to Chile will begin,” Minister Aranguren said. “We are planning the next four years and we believe that by 2021/2022, instead of 105 mcm [3.71 bcf], we can produce 140 mcm [4.94 mcf] of gas, for which we have to develop demand, because in the summer, when we do not consume, we can not close an unconventional well.”

Argentina’s gas demand peaks in the winter months, from June to August, and reaches lows in the summer, December through February. The country aims to cultivate demand for its projected summer gas surplus and to increase investment and output in Vaca Muerta.

Should all go to plan, it would be the first time the country has been able to send gas abroad since it lost its net energy exporter status in 2011. Since then, Argentina has relied on gas imports, mainly from Chile and Bolivia.

Minister Aranguren also spoke about the role of natural gas in the domestic market.

“In Argentina today, there is an energy matrix, of which 87% are hydrocarbons; 54% is natural gas,” the minister said. “We have to make a rational and responsible use, replacing mainly liquids not only with biofuels, but also with gas in electricity generation.”