The National Administration of Fuel, Alcohol and Portland (Ancap) analyzes together with Banco República Oriental del Uruguay (BROU) the alternative of creating a financial instrument that allows, on the one hand, to gather the necessary financing to carry out the megaprojects for the energy transition; and, on the other, the participation of small savers in these initiatives related to hydrogen and oil.
Uruguay is advancing steadily on the path of the second energy transition and the intention to decarbonize the economy hand in hand with initiatives such as the production of hydrogen on a large scale at sea and the production of sustainable aviation fuels or synthetic gasoline, among others. For them, it is known that financing – in large quantities – will be essential to be able to materialize the ambitious projects.
That is why Ancap, in collaboration with the BROU, studies the possibility of implementing a financial instrument that makes it possible or facilitates obtaining the money necessary. Although it is still not clear or decided what would be the best tool in this regard, the president of the state fuel company, Alejandro Stipanicic, He announced that he is thinking of a trust or an investment fund—just as he did UTE at the end of 2023.
“We are working on the implementation, then we will decide which legal form is best to adopt,” said the leader in dialogue with Diamante FM.
An alternative for all Uruguayan savers
However, the president of Ancap clarified that what is defined is that the financial instrument—whatever it may be—will be open to the participation of small savers, companies and large investors such as AFAP.
“We want to implement it so that everyone Uruguayan savings can be channeled there,” explained Stipanicic and explained that this seeks to provide greater guarantees and security.
“It would be very easy for Ancap borrowing from local or international banks or from international financial corporationsbut what if tomorrow something happens in Ancap, Someone goes crazy and does something stupid? We committed that debt forward,” he noted, and defended that the more actors participate, the more guarantees the instrument will have and, therefore, the risks will be more shared and the projects will be more controlled.
As Stipanicic explained, the state oil company will play the role of manager of this financial instrument and will market the participation rights that you have in the different projects; while the guarantee for investors will be the future income that generate those businesses.
On the list of most important initiatives is the synthetic fuel production project together with HIF Global in Paysandu -where Ancap has the right to participate in up to 30% of the business that requires a total investment of 2,000 million dollars—; and the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits, where the state company has the possibility of participating in up to 20% of a total investment of 5,000 million dollars.
In these cases, the oil company should get 600 million dollars and 1,000 million dollars, respectively. “Ancap You can’t bank all those projects. Neither does the country,” Stipanicic acknowledged and calculated that financing needs exceeding approximately $3 billion can be considered in the next four to ten years.
“We have to do it before the end of the year. We are going to generate the framework for investors to put money and we give them the guarantees,” the leader said.
Source: Ambito
