Page 18 - LatAmOil Week 42

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Argentina unveils $1.8bn gas stimulus plan

ARGENTINA’S President Alberto Fernández Hub benchmark, he remarked.
has unveiled a much-anticipated stimulus plan Martinez also noted that the tenders would
for the natural gas sector, which has seen pro- involve 70mn cubic metres per day of gas, equiv-
duction levels sink since the advent of the coro- alent to just over half of the South American
navirus (COVID-19) pandemic. country’s current production.
The package, known as Plan Gas 4, involves The gas plan is expected to save Argen-
state-owned YPF investing $1.8bn in gas tina around $5bn by eliminating the need for
production over the next three years. “We’re imports to cover seasonal demand, officials said.
convinced that we are investing in Argentina for Further details on the government’s strategy are
the country’s development,” Fernández said last to be published in the country’s Official Gazette,
week at an event marking the launch of the plan they stated.
in Neuquen Province. Argentina’s gas production dropped by
The plan will leave YPF “more alive and 14.1% year on year in August to reach 4.38bn
stronger than ever,” the president said. “And not cubic feet per day (124 mcm), according to the
just YPF; imagine what all the other companies latest data from the state-run Argentine Energy
can also do here and in the other basins,” he told Institute (IAE). Neuquen, the country’s largest
local media. oil and gas-producing province, saw production
“We’re going to put the country back on its fall to 2.72 bcf (77.03 mcm) per day in August,
feet after it had been badly hurt,” Fernandez down from 3.23 bcf (91.47 mcm) per day in the
added. same month of last year.
Speaking at the same event, Argentina’s Argentina has had one of the strictest lock-
Energy Secretary Darío Martínez explained that downs globally since the pandemic started,
the plan would also involve a four-year tender and its oil and gas sector has virtually ground
scheme through which producers would be able to a halt as a result. In April, there were no rigs
to offer gas to the market at a price up to $3.70 running, but upstream activity has been slowly
per million Btu. That price is well over the Henry picking up since then. ™

PERU
Petroperú opens bidding for refinery work

PERU’S state-run oil company Petroperú has crisis.
launched bidding for service contracts as part “Progress at the new Talara Refinery is
of the long-delayed modernisation of the Talara 90.89% [complete] and, in accordance with the
refinery. updated work schedule, after overcoming the
The 10-year operational management ser- temporary suspension and adapting to the new
vice contracts will cover work on the refinery’s work conditions on site in accordance with our
auxiliary units. Offers are due by December 7. surveillance and prevention plans for COVID-
The contracts are divided into four packages, 19, the start-up of the process units of the new
related to hydrogen production/purification refinery is expected in November 2021,” the firm
and nitrogen production units; sulphuric acid said in a press statement.
production, storage and dispatch; seawater Talara is Peru’s second-largest oil refinery.
desalination and water treatment and power and The plant is located 1,185 km away from the cap-
steam co-generation and distribution. ital Lima on the Pacific coast in the far northern
Expansion at the 62,000 barrel per day (bpd) part of the country.
refinery is expected to boost the South Ameri- The refinery still uses equipment that was
can state’s refining capacity by 50%. When the installed in the 1950s by the US International
upgrade is complete, Talara will be able to pro- Petroleum Company. Its new facilities include
cess 95,000 bpd of crude oil. a flexi-coking unit, the first of its kind in Latin
The long-delayed modernisation project, America.
which was originally due to be complete by Petroperú’s CEO Carlos Barrientos said last
2017, is now more than 90% finished, Petroperú week that $1bn would be invested in the refinery
said earlier this month. The upgraded refinery is next year. He also said the firm would prioritise
due to be fully operational by the fourth quarter the modernisation of the refinery, the expansion
of next year, following delays and suspensions of the Ilo fuel terminal and work at two oilfields
stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) known 64 and 192 going forward. ™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 22•October•2020