The Argentine Government published the Decree that makes the stocks to the dollar more flexible for oil and gas producing companies that invest in the country. Its objective is to make access to the Single Free Exchange Market (MULC) more flexible for oil companies to encourage investment and massively develop the Vaca Muerta formation. Import substitution will be key to reversing the energy trade deficit.
According to official sources, this will open the way for oil companies to disburse investments of some 40,000 million dollars accumulated until 2026, with figures increasing from 6,000 million dollars this year to more than 9,000 million dollars in all basins towards the end of this period. Likewise, the estimate is that Argentina will be able to add exports of up to 18,000 million dollars annually within the next five years, in which the production of crude oil would grow by 71% and that of gas, another 30 percent.
Import substitution is the key. With the new pipeline and these incentives, they hope to quickly reduce the sector’s $6 billion deficit.
As President Alberto Fernández and Economy Minister Martín Guzmán announced on Tuesday, the incentives will be given by regimes of access to foreign currency according to the incremental production of the companies. The baselines will be determined by the extraction of each company in 2021, regardless of the basin. On this basis, companies will be able to ask the Central Bank (BCRA) for a minimum equivalent to 20% of the incremental in the case of oil and 30% in the case of natural gas, figures that are tied to the fulfillment of Plan Gas commitments and the presentation of a national supplier development plan.
Energy exports could grow by 18 billion dollars a year for the next 5 years. The incentives are tied to compliance with the obligations in the Gas Plan and a national supplier development plan.
The measure of the stocks will come into effect in 30 days and eliminates the restrictions of the exchange market by the stocks and aims to resolve limitations and bottlenecks in the sector, allowing companies to access the necessary foreign currency to guarantee the special equipment that is required to obtain incremental production and encourage investment in the sector. The creation of a Foreign Exchange Access Regime for Incremental Oil Production was determined.
