Overview
- Energy and industry groups warn the NOA region could face gas cuts this winter, with factories, compressed natural gas stations and power generation first in line for restrictions.
- Local output from the Cuenca Noroeste has fallen to about 2.5 million cubic meters per day, which leaves the region heavily dependent on flows from Vaca Muerta.
- The reversed Gasoducto Norte can move roughly 15 million cubic meters per day to the north, yet winter peaks in the NOA can top 22 million, as compressor upgrades and a Córdoba junction still limit throughput.
- Sector leaders say Argentina would need more than 20 LNG cargoes to cover peak demand, but purchases are not secured and supply looks tighter after reported damage to a major Qatari LNG plant pushed prices higher.
- A new transport rule (Resolution 66/2026) adds a paid right-to-use fee for pipelines that analysts expect to flow into bills, Bolivia gas imports have stopped, and private fixes like Cinergia’s recent Mejillones-to-Salta delivery help power plants but do not close the winter gap; households on bottled LPG are expected to be supplied, while Salta’s Torzalito constraint often puts local CNG pumps among the first to be shut.