TotalEnergies plans to raise gas output in Argentina to meet regional demand

France's TotalEnergies, the largest natural gas producer in Argentina, plans to increase production in its offshore and Vaca Muerta assets to expand sales to the local and regional markets, where it sees growing demand, according to Sergio Mengoni, head of operations in the country.

The company is producing about 36 million-38 million cubic meters/day in Argentina and it wants to sustain that level, Mengoni said late June 2 at the Arpel energy conference in Buenos Aires.

One goal is to widen exports to the regional market, he said.

Argentina has pipeline connections with Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, and producers have been using Bolivia's spare capacity — gas output has been dwindling there — to move product to Brazil.

There is potential to increase exports to the regional market, now at around 10 MMcm/d, most of which goes to Chile, as well as to the local market.

"The potential is in the regional market is large," Mengoni said.

To increase production to take advantage of these opportunities, TotalEnergies will source the gas from its offshore fields in the southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego, now at 20-21 MMcm/d. There is potential to install another platform to boost production, to build subsea facilities that connect to its existing platform, and to explore fields in the nearby Malvinas basin with potential for oil and gas.

Vaca Muerta's growth potential

TotalEnergies's second-biggest source of gas is in Vaca Muerta, the country's biggest shale play. The company is producing 14 MMcm/d in Aguada Pichana Este, the second-largest source of gas in the play, Mengoni said.

The company is increasing that output to 16 MMcm/d, and there is potential to keep growing, Mengoni said, saying that it could go to 30 MMcm/d.

"The gas is there, and we want to keep developing it to grow," he said.

Mengoni said another option for growing its production is to sell the output for use in making other products like natural gas liquids.

Indeed, Transportadora de Gas del Sur, the country's biggest gas pipeline operator, said in March that it plans to invest $3 billion in building a gas processing plant to produce 2.7 million mt/year of NGLs.

"This opens the door for producers like us to develop fields," Mengoni said. "This is a complement for us to continue growing in this market."