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According to a statement by YPF, the firm signed the MoU with GAIL, Oil India, and ONGC Videsh for the potential export of up to 10 million tons per year of LNG to India.
Besides LNG, the MoU also includes cooperation in lithium, critical minerals, and hydrocarbon exploration and production.
“It is a huge satisfaction to be able to move forward with India on this agreement to potentially supply them with gas,” YPF CEO Horacio Marin said in the statement.
He said YPF is convinced that Argentina has an opportunity to become an energy exporter and to generate revenues of $30 billion over the next 10 years.
According to YPF, the signing of the MOU successfully closed the tour that the CEO of YPF began in January of this year in Israel, South Korea, and Japan with the purpose of generating interest and opening those markets to the gas produced from Vaca Muerta.
Moreover, this MoU follows a deal with UK-based LNG giant Shell.
In December 2024, YPF and Shell signed a project development agreement (PDA) for the first phase of the Argentina LNG export project.
The PDA means that Shell will join the LNG project.
With Shell entering into the development of the first phase of the Argentina LNG Project, Petronas’ participation as a partner of YPF has come to an end.
YPF said at the time that the company and Shell will commit to mature the development of the first phase of the Argentina LNG project towards a decision to enter the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage.
The first phase has a liquefaction capacity of 10 mtpa.
Argentina LNG
Last year, YPF and Malaysia’s Petronas decided to build the $30 billion Argentina LNG export project in the Patagonian province of Río Negro.
YPF and Petronas decided that the project would be located in Sierra Grande, Río Negro instead of the initial Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires plan.
The Sierra Grande area appears to be the best option due to the shorter length of the pipelines needed to transport shale natural gas from Vaca Muerta.
In March 2024, YPF launched a tender for engineering work for floating LNG units as part of its planned Argentina LNG export project.
YPF said the full project would have a capacity of 30 mtpa.
According to the Argentina LNG website, during its first phase, the project would have two floating liquefaction units with a production capacity of 10 mtpa.
The second phase includes the construction of a 10 mtpa onshore modular liquefaction plant, while the third phase entails an expansion of the onshore plant with new liquefaction trains for an additional 10 mtpa.