Argentine oil company YPF SA said it’s now loading the first shipment of liquefied natural gas for export from the South American country, Kallanish Energy reports.
The shipment includes 30,000 cubic meters (1.06 million cubic feet, or Mmcf) of LNG from the Vaca Muerta Shale play, YPF said, in a statement.
“This is the first step of a process that YPF is leading to export and expand gas markets to the world,” Marcos Browne, executive vice president of Gas and Electric Power for YPF, said, in the statement.
The export of LNG will generate revenue of more than $200 million annually, or 10% of its total fuel and energy exports, according to YPF data, Reuters reported.
YPF did not reveal the destination of the shipment, which would be ready by mid-week, but said the sale and loading operations were in the hands of U.S. firm Cheniere Energy.
Argentina wants to become one of the few exporting countries of LNG through international sales of leftover gas in summer periods when local demand is lower, boosting the flow of dollars into the country.
Vaca Muerta represents the world’s second-largest gas reserve and the fourth-largest non-conventional oil reserve.
Argentina is a net gas producer, with most output coming from Vaca Muerta. President Mauricio Macri, who was elected in 2015, has sought to increase energy production to counter an energy trade imbalance that began in 2011.
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