Import of LNG to Argentina could decrease 20 percent
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This could be the result of a recently announced agreement to import natural gas from neighboring Chile, local media in both countries reported. Platts writes.
From May through September, Chile will export 5.5 million cu m/day of gas to Argentina under the accord reached Saturday.
Gas to be exported from Chile will be sourced on the global LNG market -- mostly likely from Asian suppliers, according to local media reports - and delivered to both of the country's import terminals, GNL Mejillones in the north and GNL Quintero in central Chile.
The gas will be delivered to Argentina via existing pipelines that cross the international border in the Argentinian provinces of Salta in the north and Mendoza in central Argentina.
In the 2015 winter season, running from May to September, Argentina imported the LNG equivalent of 3.8 Bcm of gas, according to data from Platts Analytics.
Assuming gas demand remains stable this year, imports from Chile, which would total roughly 836 million cu m, would cut Argentina's LNG demand by upwards of 22% during the winter months. ■