Eyeing LNG investment, Buenos Aires planning own ‘Rigi’ incentives regime

Buenos Aires province will submit a bill to create its own incentives regime for large projects, governor Axel Kicillof said.

BNamericas had reported previously that such a move was possible by the Peronist-led jurisdiction.

The news comes after Río Negro province passed draft legislation adhering to the federal government’s incentives regime called Rigi.

Both Buenos Aires and Río Negro are vying for multibillion-dollar LNG investment planned by state-controlled oil company YPF.

“We have decided to submit a bill for a provincial regime for strategic investment promotion linked to large investments, production and jobs in the province of Buenos Aires,” Kicillof said on social media platform X.

"This new bill encompasses the necessary requirements to carry out the installation of the LNG plant in [Buenos Aires port] Bahía Blanca: it includes tax stability for a period similar to that offered by the national regime, proposes tax benefits for large investments, and works through a project-execution unit to streamline each of the project's needs."

YPF is planning to export LNG, initially via floating units off the coast of Río Negro, and eventually build a fixed plant, with a public announcement pending over where it will be located. Those in favor of the investment going into Buenos Aires highlight that export-oriented infrastructure is already in place there. 

YPF is planning to export oil from Río Negro.

A key pillar of Rigi, part of right-wing President Javier Milei’s economic reform bill which became law last week, targets projects with required outlay of over US$200 million. Qualifying projects will receive tax, customs and forex benefits, with legal and regulatory stability established for 30 years.

Projects have up to two years to adhere and have to deploy, within two years, at least 40% of the minimum investment agreed.