Argentina extends gas supply contracts, postpones new auctions

Argentina has decided to extend existing gas supply contracts between producers and distributors until June 30, postponing new auctions.

The contracts, awarded last year through digital platform Megsa, were valid until March 31. Last month the industry asked the government to hold new auctions at the end of April but production minister Matías Kulfas decided to extend the existing contracts, according to local press reports.

End-user prices were essentially frozen by decree last year after Argentina’s primary election results showed the current president, Alberto Fernández, had a significant advantage over then-president Mauricio Macri. The freeze was extended by the Fernández administration, which took over in December, until the end of June under an economic emergency law passed by congress at the start of the year.

The extension is expected to be published in the official gazette in the coming days, signed by energy minister Sergio Lanziani.