Energy efficiency: Agreement with Bolivia to reduce gas imports

Photo attached

1. Luis Eduardo Pintos (Vice President of IEASA)

2. Gustavo Lopetegu (Secretary of Energy)

3. Luis Alberto Sánchez (Hydrocarbon Minister)

4. Oscar Javier Barriga Arteaga (President of YPFB)

The agreement, reached on 14 February, will allow Argentina to purchase less gas from Bolivia during lower consumption months. It is an addendum to the original agreement, negotiated by the Secretariat of State for Energy and officials of the Foreign Ministry, which will entail savings of US$ 480 million over two years.

The need to renegotiate the original contract, dated 2006, results from the discovery of important resources and natural gas reserves in Argentina. The increase in local production, thanks to the exploitation of fields such as Vaca Muerta, generates an exportable gas surplus during the summer, while imports are not yet required during the winter.

The agreement was signed in Santa Cruz de la Sierra by Bolivian company YPFB and by Argentine company IEASA. Furthermore, the Secretary of Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Gustavo Lopetegui, and the Hydrocarbon Minister of Bolivia, Luis Alberto Sánchez, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase cooperation in energy between both countries, boosting binational energy integration.

Link to Memorandum of Understanding: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/memorando_de_entendimiento_bolivia-argentina_2019-02-14.pdf

Link to addendum to Contract between YPFB-IEASA: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/ypfb_-_ieasa_-_cuarta_adenda_contrato_2019-02-14.pdf