In the panel of Vaca Muerta, Juan GarobyCOO of Viewrecalled that today they are exported 130,000 barrels daily oil, which imply the income of US$3.5 billionbut stressed that by 2030 the perspective is to reach 1 million barrelswith income from US$20,000 million annually. “There is a lack of time and conditions for the investments to arrive and regularize access to foreign currency for the payment of dividends, so that Vaca Muerta is shielded and that the circumstances of the moment do not change the plans. We have to get out of a mindset of scarcity, protectionism and local supply -which is already supplied-, to a mindset of abundance. And for that you have to change the regulations to promote exports, “he said. And, according to Garoby, one of the keys will be efficiency in production. “The wells are on average 25% more productive than those in the Permian and that is reflected throughout the basin”revealed.
the californian Jeremy MartinVice President of Energy and Sustainability of the Institute of the Americasrecommended taking advantage of the opportunities that natural gas from Dead cow. “It is the cornerstone for energy security and will be part of the transition. In the short term they are going to take advantage of the resource, but in the long term the country has to be an exporter of LNG to the whole world, ”he said in understandable Spanish, but with the tablet in hand. “Vaca Muerta will continue to be important for any government,” said the American expert and advocated for the new local energy demand to be met with renewable sources. “Beyond the political advent, Argentina has all the energy resources at hand, this sector is the oasis within the chaos, and that is great,” he slipped at the beginning of the “AmCham Energy Forum: the future is now”.
Ricardo GutierrezPresident of Shell Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, considered that Argentina’s opportunity is golden. “With adequate policies and a stable regulatory framework, this sector can take a leap and contribute to the economic development of the country”he said, but warned that it takes US$10 billion in long-term foreign investment. “The capital first goes to transportation or processing infrastructure, and then to the wells, to increase production or reverse decline,” he described. “These investments require a competitive and stable legal framework, and that guarantees that these regulations will not change over time, and that is the importance of having a State police that transcends the different administrations,” he evaluated.
The Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royonconfirmed that by 2023 a positive energy balance of at least $100 millionwhich reverses the deficit of US$4.5 billion of the previous year, but predicted that by 2030 the surplus could reach US$18,000 million. “The great challenge is to achieve macroeconomic stability, and the energy sector is part of the construction of that solution,” he said, remarking that the energy sector can become the second most important in the generation of foreign currency, essential to achieve the stability that is required,” he asserted.
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However, the official asked to analyze the proposals of each of the candidates for president. “There are points of divergence between candidates, we defend the energy infrastructure as a key issue for the development of the country, where the State has to make its commitment and promote the works, as happened with the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline and now with the electrical system and the high voltage lines, and the Reversal of the Northern Gas Pipeline and Section II of the GPNK. We believe in a State that has to draw up infrastructure plans, so we can make the leap with renewable energy, which together with private companies we are going to co-finance”.
“State policies -he continued- are executed by the Executive Power, but they are built from the Legislative Power, business spheres and academia, we have to have a constructive look. This electoral scenario generates uncertainty, but the good or common point is that everyone talks about a strategic sector for the development of Argentina. The divergence is in the role that the State or YPF has to have, (Sergio) Massa talks about his proposal from the management, ”he emphasized, referring to the Javier Milei’s controversial privatization plan for the flag oil company.
After recalling the implementation of Decree 929 that generates incentives for oil production and the regulation of 277, Royón assured that in the Government “We believe in legal certainty and we have to comply with it”but added that “we are not unaware of the complex macroeconomic scenario” of the country with the pandemic, indebtedness, drought and the escalation of energy prices worldwide. “Massa’s objective is to finish the year and fulfill the benefits that he promised himself with the 277”, advertisement.
The secretary stressed that the exemption from paying the PAIS Tax to import fuels and infrastructure works has already been regulated and that this benefit will continue shortly for renewable projects. Along these lines, Royón defended the new price agreement that freezes fuel until October 31after the general elections. “I would like to know if the businessmen lost in the long term, what happened now is not the same as during the Macri government, here there was an agreement, not a decree. (After) the necessary devaluation and without a context of predictability and stability, of sending clear signals to society, we all lose. Containing inflation and giving signs of non-speculation is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.
Robert MurchisonChairman and CEO of the Murchison Group, introduced the panel “Interprovincial cooperation for development”which starred the governor-elect of Río Negro, Alberto Wereltineck. “Only through a joint approach can we create a competitive framework that fosters innovation and growth, today more than ever we must join forces, ideas and knowledge,” said Murchison, who assured that the country “is on the cusp of a change ” and that “long-term vision and policies are needed” to attract sustainable investment and a prosperous future.
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In his turn, Senator Wereltineck proposed improving the routes of the Neuquén Basin and arriving with the Norpatagonian train to Dead cow. “I think that the original project of Vale must be recovered, which arose in Chinchinales, reached Añelo and continued with Mendoza, with fewer impacts and judicial problems, but this does not depend only on the provinces, but on the Nation”he affirmed, and he highlighted that Río Negro has already awarded PGR -partners of the Swiss Mercuria- its first two hydrocarbon blocks in the massif (Confluencia Norte and Confluencia Sur), in the area bordering Neuquén and that in the next few days the third.
Within this framework, Wereltineck clarified that the people of Río Negro have a federal perspective on Dead cow and that they share objectives with Nación and Neuquén to achieve the social license of the projects. “We are going to do everything in our power to collaborate in the development” of the formation, he said, and defended the duplication works of the oil pipeline of Oldeval and the construction of Dead cow South of YPF in Sierra Grande, which last week went through a public hearing. “Now we want to carry out prior consultations with the original peoples, both for gas and oil, and for mining. Giving them space and participation within the framework of international agreements and current laws is healthier and gives more legal certainty”, he highlighted.
The president-elect also prevailed in renewable wind, solar and Australian Fortescue’s hydrogen project in his province, which is waiting for a law to advance with strong investments. “We are limited in the charging capacity of electrical energy and the Nation’s plan is important”he emphasized, and slipped that Río Negro is the ideal place to install an LNG plant.
Alejandro AguirreSecretary of Hydrocarbons of Tierra del Fuego and Roberto Butcherdirector of the Institute of Energy of the Austral University, analyzed the offshore potential. Aguirre celebrated the construction of the US$700 million TotalEnergies, PAE and Wintershall Phoenix Plan, which will provide up to 10 million extra m3 of gas to the country. “It is located 70 km from Tierra del Fuego, in January the platform that is being built in Ravenna, Italy arrives, and now the first 200 meters of underwater pipeline are being built, but it will be 40 km in total to the Vega Pléyade platform. , which has been operational since 2016. It is an investment that is underway and we must continue to support it”encouraged the official.
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The academic Carnicer put numbers to the Argentine offshore potential. “The Austral Norte Basin represents a resource of 32 billion barrels, when the Vaca Muerta shale oil is 28 billion”he exemplified, and highlighted the “enthusiasm” in the drilling of the Argerich well, some 300 km from Mar del Plata. “This well will be explored in January 2024 and it will mean a before and after for the production of hydrocarbons in deep waters for Argentina, because it will generate geological knowledge about what can be found”, indicated Carnice, who anticipated that these results will surely bring new investments. “The results will be almost online, immediate and in a short time we will be able to know the advantages” of this basin, she estimated.
Both Aguierre and Carnicer agreed that the national energy matrix will soon change and advocated moving forward with the approval of the social license. “You have to skip the situation, begin to generate maturity from dialogue and establish public policies sustainable over time from society. The problem today is access to foreign currency, priority must be given to those who are going to generate short-term resources, but not stop long-term investments, regardless of the administrations that come,” raised the Fuegian secretary.
Source: Ambito
