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Argentina Extends Gas Emergency to 2027 and Lets Private Firms Import LNG Under a Price Cap

Officials cite transport bottlenecks from Vaca Muerta, with a new SEF set to smooth winter bills from February.

Overview

  • Decree 49/2026 prolongs the national emergency for gas transport and distribution until December 31, 2027, citing pipeline constraints that will not ease before winter 2027.
  • A maximum domestic price is set for regasified imported LNG based on an international marker plus a dollar-per-MMBTU add-on for shipping, regasification, storage, marketing and pipeline delivery to Los Cardales.
  • The Energy Secretariat will run a competitive tender to assign regasification capacity at the Escobar terminal so private operators can import, regasify and sell LNG.
  • ENARSA steps back from importing and commercializing LNG but remains a temporary backstop if the tender fails, according to the decree.
  • A separate decree formalizes the SEF subsidy redesign that applies a single annual gas price (PAU) to flatten seasonal bills, classifies households as subsidized or not, and is reported to trim energy subsidies to about 0.5% of GDP.