Page 11 - LatAmOil Week 25 2022

LatAmOil ARGENTINA LatAmOil

Argentina’s oil output at record high in May

ARGENTINA’S Energy Secretariat reported energy is central. We have an activity in perma-
earlier this week that the country had seen crude nent growth, thanks to the strong impulse we
oil production rise to its highest levels in more gave to Vaca Muerta.”
than 10 years in May, largely as a consequence of Martinez went on to say that Argentina’s
increasing output at unconventional fields. government was taking steps to build up the
According to the secretariat, the South gas sector and reduce the country’s reliance
American state produced 584,000 barrels per on imported fuel. Buenos Aires is following
day (bpd) of oil in May, up by 14% on the figure the Gas.Ar roadmap, which “allows us to con-
posted in the same month of 2021. Unconven- tinue building and strengthening a more federal
tional oilfields accounted for about 41% of the country,” he said. The plan aims to attract more
country’s total output, or approximately 241,000 investments for gas projects, which should then
bpd. This is up by 57% on the same month of generate more revenues that can be paid to pro-
2026. vincial governments as royalties, he said. Pro-
The secretariat further noted that Argentina vincial authorities can then use these royalties to
had extracted 136mn cubic metres per day of fund programmes related to “education, health,
gas in May, up by 12% on the same month of security or whatever they consider a priority,” he
last year. In that month, it said, the total volume noted. ™
of unconventional gas – including tight gas
from several provinces and shale gas from Vaca
Muerta fields – came to 76 mcm, or 39% of out-
put. This represents a 56% increase on the 2021
figure for unconventional gas.
Dario Martinez, the head of the Energy
Secretariat, hailed the reports of production
increases. “We are very happy because these
numbers are very good for our economy,
because they mean more Argentine gas and oil,
produced by Argentine workers, with national
SMEs that provide technology and added value,”
he commented. “With clear rules and predicta-
bility, we have boosted a strategic sector for our
energy development in a global context where Unconventional oilfields played an outsized role in boosting output (Photo: Telam)

Energía Argentina in steel pipe contract

with Tenaris for Vaca Muerta gas project

STATE-OWNED Energía Argentina has signed Buenos Aires Province.
a contract with SIAT, a subsidiary of the Luxem- The statement did not disclose the exact
bourg-based steel pipe maker Tenaris, for the value of the contract. According to previous
supply of welded pipes for the President Néstor reports, Tenaris, which is itself an affiliate of the
Kirchner Gas Pipeline (PNKG) project. Argentinian-Italian industrial conglomerate
Energía Argentina announced the signing of Techint, offered earlier this year to supply the
the contract last week, saying in a statement that steel pipes for a price of $567mn.
the contract provided for SIAT to deliver 582 km Argentina’s government hopes the pipe-
of 36-inch (914-mm) pipe and 74-km of 30-inch line project will help spur the development of
(762-mm) pipe. All of the pipes will be manu- unconventional gas fields in Vaca Muerta, one of
factured at Tenaris’ mill in Valentina Alsina, a the world’s largest shale plays. PNKG’s first stage
town in Buenos Aires Province. Integración will help the South American country reduce its
Energética SA (IEASA), another state-con- dependence on imported gas by moving domes-
trolled entity, will use the pipes to build the first tic production from fields in the shale formation
stage of the PNKG network along a route from to the more heavily populated parts of the coun-
Treatyén in Neuquén Province to Saliquelló in try where it is most needed.

Week 25 23•June•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11