Pagina 12, Argentina’s daily periodical, reckons that the Latin American country could step to the fore and assert itself as a significant LNG supplier on the global scale amid Russia’s lingering hostilities in Ukraine.
Simmering geopolitical tensions have led to drastic changes in the petroleum market. Even though Europe and Asia have amassed ample reserves of natural gas, the fact does not ensure energy safety in the coming winter. Experts say that gas is recognized to be a highly important fuel for Europe during the transitional period on the path to green energy. Analysts at Pagina 12 acknowledge that the EU authorities are betting on successful cooperation with Argentina in the energy sector.
Argentina's Deputy Minister of Energy and Mining Juan Jose reminded markets that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused LNG global prices to balloon. The periodical predicts that Argentina could benefit from current market woes if it takes the lead as the key LNG supplier. Importantly, the Latin American country has massive shale gas fields.
A stumbling block could be the lack of considerable investments in LNG production facilities and pipeline construction. Therefore, the government has to attract investments worth almost $5 billion to achieve such ambitious plans.
The EU coped well with the heating season of 2022/23 despite the boycott of well-established LNG suppliers from Russia. The EU authorities will be able to smoothly shift to a new LNG source in Argentina provided that the coming winter is not severely cold and new suppliers fulfill their contract obligations.
At present, European countries are getting ready for the next heating season, phasing out their dependence on Russian gas. They might face a challenge on the condition that cold weather lasts for longer and the temperature falls below average.
