(Bloomberg) -- Argentine state-run energy company YPF SA will join a venture being developed by rival shale driller Pan American Energy Group SL and liquefied natural gas shipper Golar LNG Ltd., Executive Chairman Horacio Marin said.
The merger of what have so far been two separate LNG projects — one led by YPF, the other by Pan American and Golar — would be key to helping boost production and exports in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta, the second-biggest deposit of shale gas in the world. YPF and Pan American, which is 50% owned by British oil major BP Plc, are the country’s top oil and gas producers.
Golar’s New York shares surged as much as 9.9%.
Argentina’s LNG export ambitions put it in competition with expansions from the US and Qatar, the world’s top two natural gas producers. LNG demand has been on the rise in Europe, where importers are cutting back on gas piped from Russia, and in Southeast Asia, where new buyers are trying to de-carbonize their energy portfolios.
Marin said in a post on LinkedIn that YPF would be joining the Pan American-Golar venture, and Pan American CEO Marcos Bulgheroni replied that he was excited for them to work together. The exchange came after executives at Golar said earlier this month that they would welcome other participants.
Meanwhile, it isn’t clear what will happen to Petronas, which has supported YPF’s plans since their inception more than two years ago — though Marin has more recently cast doubt on the Malaysian company’s continued involvement. A spokeswoman for Petronas in Buenos Aires didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Argentina has been looking first to regional neighbors — first Chile and now Brazil — to pipe increasing production from the Vaca Muerta formation. Exporting LNG is a next step, but any project would require pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure in a nation that has severe investment and financing obstacles.
Libertarian President Javier Milei took office a year ago on a mission to improve the business climate. One tool he drafted is a program of long-term tax and foreign-exchange benefits, approved by Congress, to which energy and mining companies have started to apply. Pan American-Golar submitted the LNG venture for inclusion on Nov. 22, according to Economy Minister Luis Caputo.
(Adds Golar share move in third paragraph and context throughout.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.