The Argentine Fénix field is an offshore project valued at US$ 700 million, which was initially scheduled to come into operation in November.

Natural gas production has started ahead of schedule at Argentina's Fenix field, French oil company TotalEnergies said on Friday.

The project, valued at US$700 million and initially scheduled to begin operating in November, has a production capacity of 10 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, representing 8% of Argentina's total production and around 7% of annual consumption.

Gas from the Fénix field, located off the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego, is destined for domestic consumption, at a time when Argentina is trying to reduce imports, deregulate local prices, promote energy investment and become an exporter of liquefied natural gas.

TotalEnergies operates a quarter of Argentina's production, the largest of any private company, with operations in the Vaca Muerta formation, the world's second-largest unconventional gas reserve, as well as several projects in Tierra del Fuego.

Fenix uses an unmanned offshore platform connected to existing underwater gas pipelines and gas treatment plants, making the project cheaper and less polluting.

According to TotalEnergies, the project's carbon intensity - which measures the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere as a percentage of the oil or gas produced - was 9 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (CO2e/boe).

The company's ceiling for new projects is 18 CO2-e/boe.

"With its low breakeven point and low carbon intensity, Fénix fits perfectly with the company's low-cost, low-emission strategy," Javier Rielo, senior vice president for the Americas for Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies, said in a statement.

TotalEnergies has a 37.5% operating stake in Fenix, alongside BP's Pan American Sur with 25% and London-listed Harbour Energy, which bought Wintershall Dea's exploration and production portfolio with a 37.5% stake in December.