Argentina oil export requests, market players climb in August

The number of oil and gasoline export requests filed in Argentina continues to trend up.

The federal energy department published 42 requests in August, up from 31 the previous month and 27 in August 2021. Firms of all sizes filed, including national oil company YPF, which is targeting offshore production from the Austral basin, where it partners with a local unit of Chile’s Enap at the Magallanes license.  

Overall requests had risen over 50% in July compared with June.

Upstream firms are pressing the production and export accelerator, with appetites whetted by strong prices on the international market and planned investment in midstream infrastructure that will expand dispatch capacity between production hub the Vaca Muerta shale play and Puerto Rosales in Buenos Aires province. An export duct to Chile is also being overhauled and brought back online.

The government has also introduced a special capital controls regime for the sector, to help spur investment. 

Twenty-seven companies filed export requests in August – the bulk for a period of one month – up from 22 in July.

Vista Energy filed the biggest single request, to ship 170,000m3 of Medanito crude between October 11 and November 10 from the Neuquén basin, home to Vaca Muerta.

Overall, the 27 applicants filed to export 1.32Mm3 of oil and gasoline, up from 975,000m3 in July and 720,000m3 in June. 

ALSO READ: Argentina’s Vista squeezing oil export accelerator

Overall Argentine oil output averaged 93,100m3/d in July, up 0.5% month-on-month and 12.2% year-on-year, according to data in a General Mosconi energy think tank report. Unconventional oil output averaged 39,200m3/d, up 3.2% and 47.2%. Almost all of Argentina’s shale oil and tight oil is produced in the Neuquén basin.

Conventional oil production fell 1.4% month-on-month and 4.4% year-on-year amid dampened E&P investment and a sharp industry focus on tapping unconventional resources. 

Argentina exported 3.40Mm3 of oil last year, according to data from local oil and gas sector chamber IAPG. 

Oil exports fell 36.1% year-on-year in July to 208,600m3, according to the General Mosconi report, which uses federal energy department and statistics agency Indec data. In the 12 months through July, exports were up 30.2%. 

Overall fuel and power exports were down 31.2% year-on-year in July by volume, as prices climbed 57.4%. In January-July, fuel and power exports climbed 14% by volume and 68.1% by price. 

OIL EXPORTERS FILING REQUESTS IN AUGUST

ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina: Three requests for a total of 93,000m3
Secra: One request for 474m3
Petrolera El Trébol: One request for 1,496m3
Desarrollos Petrolero y Ganadero: One request for 1,368m3
Crown Point Energía: One request for 3,057m3
Roch: Two requests for a total of 18,906m3
YPF: Two requests for a total of 36,300m3
PCR: One request for 10,000m3
Pluspetrol: Two requests for a total of 151,000m3
Pan American Sur: One request for 20,000m3
Enap Sipetrol: Two requests for a total of 31,000m3
Oilstone Energía: One request for 4,500m3
CGC: One request for 40,000m3
Pan American Energy: Three requests for a total of 125,000m3
Wintershall Energía: Two requests for a total of 24,000m3
Petróleos Sudamericanos: Two requests for a total of 7,000m3
Vista Energy: One request for 170,000m3
Capex: Two requests for a total of 63,000m3
Shell Argentina: One request for 160,000m3
Pampa Energía: One request for 10,000m3
Total Austral: Two requests for a total of 35,000m3
Refinería del Norte: One request for 5,000m3
Petrolera Aconcagua Energía: Two requests for a total of 4,000m3
Compañia de Hidrocarburo No Convencional: One request for 90,000m3
Sinopep: One request for 60,000m3
Tecpetrol: Two requests for a total of 95,000m3
Petronas E&P Argentina: One request for 78,000m3

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