Argentina to join ranks of LNG exporters next year

EXMAR NV

21/11/2018 10:35

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Argentina is due to begin exports
of liquefied natural gas from a part of its vast Vaca Muerta
shale gas resource next year through a floating LNG liquefaction
(FLNG) vessel provided by Exmar  EXMR.BR , the Belgian shipping
company said on Wednesday.
    The operations, due to start in the second quarter of 2019,
will introduce Argentina into the small club of around 20
countries exporting LNG while the FLNG will be only the world's
fourth and the smallest.
    The country's state-controlled oil company YPF signed a
10-year agreement with Exmar to deploy the barge-based FLNG,
formerly known as the Caribbean FLNG, at Bahia Blanca on the
east coast about 400 miles south of Buenos Aires. 
    The port hosted South America's first LNG import terminal, a
floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) provided by U.S.
company Excelerate. However that FSRU, the Excelerate Exemplar,
left the port on Oct 30, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
    Argentina will continue to have the ability to import LNG
through the Excelerate Expedient FSRU moored in Escobar, close
to Buenos Aires. The new import vessel will now be named Tango
FLNG and is expected to ship up to eight cargoes a year. 
    "Thanks to the commercial relationship with Exmar, we are
now able to add value to the resources extracted from Vaca
Muerta, and take full advantage of the seasonal opportunity with
Asian markets and our unique location to serve demand centers,"
YPF President Miguel Gutierrez said in the statement.
    Vaca Muerta is similar to the shale gas deposits that have
rejuvenated the U.S. energy industry. The Argentine play is one
of the largest reserves of unconventional hydrocarbons on the
planet, though much of its oil and gas remains untapped.
    

 (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki
Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
 ((sabina.zawadzki@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 4051;))