Within seven years, in 2031, Argentina could have energy exports worth around $30 billion per yearan income in foreign currency that would remain constant for approximately 20 years, calculated the president of the YPF, Horacio Marín, in a presentation at Expoagro.
In this case, the sector’s trade balance would be positive by over 25 billion dollars; the equivalent of half of the debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or just under 25% of the capital restructured in the midst of the pandemic with private investment funds.
In this way, the “Vaca Muerta” would be on par with the “live cow” that is the countryside and the country’s economy would stop depending on the climatefrom rain or drought to increase activity, accumulate reserves, tax revenue and, the ultimate goal, reduce inflation, unemployment and poverty.
Argentina would thus become a reality energy power in a world that will continue the long transition from coal and the most polluting fossil fuels to renewable energy in the coming years.
For this Marín created an intermediate plan which he called “4×4” and consists of quadruple the value of the shares in four yearsbased on various measures that will enhance the investments in Vaca Muerta and will develop the infrastructure for oil and gas pipelines evacuate production to the countries of the region and to the sea.
YPF’s 4×4 plan
The 4 pillars of the plan are: the focus on Vaca Muerta, the formation of unconventional oil and gas (shale AND strict) which has reserves equivalent to Argentina’s energy consumption for 200 years; the sale of 55 mature fields to other smaller oil companies, as well as the sale of stakes in several companies; the efficiency and productivity of its fields and refineries; and the mega project for the production of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) together with Petronasthe state company of Malaysia, which would also cover the rest of the large oil companies that operate in the country and extract gas, such as Total Austral, PAE, Tecpetrol, Pampa Energía, Pluspetrol and CGC.
According to data from the province of Neuquen who published the portal +e from La Mañana de Neuquén, In 2024, oil investments in that region of the country will amount to approximately 9,050 million dollars, of which YPF would allocate just under half, approximately $4.3 billion; At the same time, the state company plans to drill 222 wells out of 445 total.
Argentina today has a production of 686,300 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, of which 345,300 bpd is “unconventional” from Vaca Muerta. The figure could reach million barrels per day of shale in 2030which requires large capital outlays in infrastructure.
In this sense, YPF leads the construction of the Vaca Muerta South Pipelinewhich will run from Allen (Neuquén) to a deep-water port in Punta Colorada (Río Negro), which would be another major energy export hub starting in 2026.
The oil company hired another former Techint for this purpose: Gustavo Gallino, one of the heads of President Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline (GPNK) – he was general director of the Southern Area of Engineering and Construction Techint -, which was built in less than one year.
“In 2026 there will be no more bottlenecks in oil transportationbetween the Vaca Muerta Sur pipeline, the Trasandino (Otasa) pipeline for crude oil exports to Chile and the expansions of Oleoductos del Valle (Oldelval),” Marin assured.
A former professional tennis player (from the ATP records it appears that he lost the only match he played, in the Brasilia tournament in 1981) and passionate about the sport in which Guillermo Vilas distinguished himself, the president and CEO of the YPF believes that The oil company must be the “Novak Djokovic” of energy: playing only major tournaments such as the Grand Slam and the Masters 1000, which in this sense would be Vaca Muerta, offshore and liquefied gas, and relegating smaller tournaments such as the ATP 250. These competitions, taken at the energy level, are the fields that you have Mendoza, Chubut and Santa Cruzwhere the exit of the company through the sale of its assets is problematic but – sector operators recognize – also necessary.
With the “process management“, Marín wants to make the company more productive, reduce downtime and, in net terms, each employee almost doubles their actual working hours.
And finally, the long-term goal is to achieve the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to achieve large-scale exports. Company executives think it is only feasible in Argentina If the entire sector was integrated into the same project, the advanced one with Petronas.
The goal is to start converting with a liquefying vessel the equivalent of approximately 6 million m3 per day (MMm3/d) of natural gas into LNG by 2027 with YPF alone, to be added to the entire sector with approximately 40 MMm3/ g between 2029 and 2027. 2030 and start an onshore (continental) plant that will double capacity in subsequent years.
For this, you would need investments of approximately 16,000 million dollars annually, between the construction of the liquefaction plant (process by which natural gas at 15° is cooled to -161° to compress its volume 600 times and facilitate its transport on ships) and the laying of three “dedicated” gas pipelines exclusively to this project.
Source: Clarin
