Imports drop as domestic gas production rises in Argentina

Argentina’s LNG imports in July dropped 7% compared to the same period a year before as the production saw a slight increase of 0.7%, reveals Platts unit Bentek Energy. 

Imports topped at 1.492 mcm of LNG in July compared to the 1.611 mcm of LNG for the same month in 2013. This year-on-year decline was the first since 2009.

Domestic gas production increased slightly but YPF showed a 15% increase while Pan American Energy recorded a 3.9% rise in production, according to the General Mosconi Institute data.

August revealed another rise in domestic gas production while imports again declined, this time 19.3% in comparison to August 2013.

In early September, the country suspended a buy tender for 13 LNG cargoes that were to be delivered from November 2014 to March 2015 according to market sources. Although YPF claimed it has sufficient supplies, sources dispute this claim stating that the country’s debt might have severely damaged the country’s ability to buy LNG on the international market.

LNG World News Staff, September 16, 2014; Image: Excelerate