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GLNG AMERICAS GLNG

Petronas, YPF sign initial land lease

deal on LNG project with Bahia Blanca

port authority

ARGENTINA MALAYSIA’S national oil company (NOC) Pet- unit of Petronas signed an agreement on the
ronas and its Argentinean counterpart YPF have joint study and development of an integrated
Argentina is preparing signed an initial land lease deal with the port of LNG project in Argentina. At that time, they
for LNG exports. Bahia Blanca in Buenos Aires Province, a move specified that the project would focus on real-
that will allow them to move forward with plans ising the potential of the country’s Vaca Muerta
to develop a major LNG export facility. shale basin.
Bahia Blanca’s port authority announced the The Argentina GNL project is slated to
signing of the deal in a statement dated February include upstream gas production and the con-
28. It said that its President Federico Susbielles struction of a 600-km dedicated pipeline, infra-
had finalised the agreement at a meeting with structure and gas liquefaction facilities, as well
Petronas’ COO and executive vice president, as marketing and shipping operations. YPF has
Adnan Zainal Abidin, YPF’s chairman and pres- said that the partners are looking at building a
ident, Pablo Gonzalez, and YPF’s CEO Pablo plant capable of turning out about 5mn tonnes
Luliano. per year in the first phase, at a cost of approxi-
According to the statement, the agreement mately $10bn. The facility’s production capacity
gives YPF and Petronas an initial period of six could eventually rise to 25mn tpy, and the port
months to carry out economic, environmental, of Bahia Blanca said in its statement that total
maritime, soil and technical studies to determine investment in the project could reach $50bn.
how to make the project economically viable and YPF and Petronas have not said whether they
internationally competitive. At the end of this have selected any specific fields within the Vaca
period, the firms will submit an application for Muerta formation to serve as sources of feed-
a long-term concession. stock for the Argentina GNL project. The two
The partners have already begun preliminary companies signed an agreement in 2018 on joint
work on the project, known as Argentina GNL. development of Amarga Chica, an unconven-
Last September, YPF and an Argentina-based tional oil and gas field within the shale basin. ™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 09•March•2023