Argentina LNG Project Reaches Río Negro’s Coastal Towns

Argentina · ENERGY

Suppliers, mayors and students in three coastal towns got their first formal briefing on a US$51 billion gas export plan.

YPF and Río Negro’s government spent this week explaining the Argentina LNG project to the towns that will host it. Meetings in Sierra Grande, Las Grutas and San Antonio Oeste opened the territorial phase of a US$51 billion build.

A megaproject arrives in coastal Río Negro

On August 24 the provincial government and YPF opened a community tour in Sierra Grande. The two teams carried the Argentina LNG project to the towns that would host its export works.

The agenda closed on August 26 in San Antonio Oeste, on the shore of San Matías Gulf. Between the two stops, officials also met emergency services in the beach town of Las Grutas.

Argentina LNG is a plan to turn Vaca Muerta gas into liquefied natural gas, or LNG, for export. The fuel would leave from floating plants anchored off the Río Negro coast.

Provincial officials framed the visits as the start of the project’s territorial phase. Nothing is built yet, but the paperwork and the local groundwork have now begun.

What the province and YPF told local firms

In Sierra Grande, YPF sent staff from procurement, engineering and supplier development. Its engineering and construction arm, AESA, joined the sessions in San Antonio Oeste.

Roughly 50 people attended the San Antonio Oeste meeting on August 26. They included business owners, chamber delegates, security forces, health officials and regional institutions.

Mario Figueroa, institutional relations chief at the provincial Secretariat of Energy and Environment, led the delegation. He said the plan represents the largest private investment in Argentine history.

“A project of this scale is also built by listening,” Figueroa said in Sierra Grande. He added that the province wanted residents to hear the plan before formal procedures start.

The numbers behind the Argentina LNG project

YPF filed the venture for RIGI benefits on August 14, 2026. RIGI stands for Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones, Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime.

The regime, created by Law 27,742, offers tax, customs and currency stability for three decades. The filing put total investment at US$51 billion, the largest single application the regime has received.

About US$29 billion falls between 2026 and 2031, split between infrastructure and drilling. Roughly US$24 billion goes to plants, pipelines, port works and the floating units, and US$5 billion to wells.

YPF operates the venture with Italy’s Eni and XRG, the international arm of Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC. A final investment decision is expected before the end of 2026, chief executive Horacio Marín has said.

Marín told Radio Rivadavia on August 14 that the plan could bring US$10 billion in annual exports. That headline figure now rests on permits and on local capacity in two small towns.

Capacity, timing and the export route

Two floating liquefaction units would produce 12 million tonnes per annum, or Mtpa, of LNG. Mtpa is the standard industry measure of liquefaction capacity.

The units would sit about seven kilometres offshore in San Matías Gulf, under a February agreement. Gas would reach them through a dedicated 526-kilometre pipeline of 48-inch diameter.

Construction runs from 2026 to 2030, with first cargoes planned for 2031. YPF expects about 20,000 construction jobs a year, peaking near 40,000 in the third year.

Operations would then support some 8,000 direct and indirect posts. The company also projects around US$15 billion in purchases from Argentine suppliers over the venture’s life.

Local content rules give the tour its teeth

Río Negro has two provincial laws that shape who works on projects of this size. Law 5805 reserves 60 percent of contracting for firms listed in the provincial supplier registry.

Registered local bidders may also match rival offers that are up to 8 percent cheaper. Temporary business unions need at least 51 percent Río Negro ownership or decision-making power.

Law 5804 requires 80 percent of staff to have lived in the province for two years. It also sets a minimum of 20 percent women and non-binary workers on payrolls.

The national RIGI text is looser, asking that 20 percent of supplier payments go to Argentine firms. That gap explains why the province is pushing companies into its registry before tenders open.

What Río Negro firms are being asked to do

The registry is run by ADERN, the Agencia de Desarrollo Económico de Río Negro. Enrolment is compulsory for any company hoping to be invited to bid.

YPF technical staff spelled out the quality, safety and environmental standards suppliers must meet. Local executives left with a blunt message about how much preparation the work demands.

“It is an industry with very high quality and safety standards,” said Carlos Etcheverry. The chief executive of Grupo Clusterciar added that every process involved is complex.

“To work, they have to prepare: their people, their processes, their accounting, everything,” he said. Hospitality, catering, transport, welding and construction are the sectors expected to feel demand first.

Money already flowing into the province

Provincial data show what an energy build does to a small local economy. In the first quarter of 2026, energy projects bought 15.9 billion pesos (US$10.5 million) from Río Negro suppliers.

That conversion uses the BCRA A3500 reference rate of 1,514.16 pesos per dollar on August 26, 2026. BCRA is the Banco Central de la República Argentina, the country’s central bank.

Awarded contracts rose from 14 firms in early 2025 to 48 a year later. The province counted 479 companies enrolled and 103 already working on energy sites.

Those purchases came from oil and gas works already under way, not from Argentina LNG. They are the template the province wants repeated at a far larger scale.

What still has to happen

The Argentina LNG project must clear a public hearing before provincial construction permits arrive. No date has been announced, and the province presented the tour as preparation for that step.

A February agreement with YPF set community payments of US$25 million once the investment decision lands. It adds US$24 million a year in community contributions during operations.

The same deal foresees about US$10 million a year in provincial taxes and fees. It also commits the operator to reopening the San Antonio Oeste airport.

Río Negro’s legislature ratified that agreement on February 27, 2026. For now, the venture remains a filing, a permit queue and a supplier list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• prensa.rionegro.gov.ar
• rionegro.gov.ar
• www.noticiasnet.com.ar
• www.adnsur.com.ar
• econojournal.com.ar
• rionegro.gov.ar
• rionegro.gov.ar
• www.adern.gob.ar
• runrunenergetico.com
• www.rionegro.com.ar
• www.iprofesional.com
• api.bcra.gob.ar

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