Bolivian energy company YPFB stopped supplying the oil on the 18th of this month, according to an Argentine media outlet based on official data.
Almost half a month before the date already agreed for the early termination of the natural gas purchase-sale contract between YPFB and Enarsa, shipments from Bolivia ceased, thus marking the end of sales of the energy product to Argentina after 19 years.
The information on the cut in shipments from Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPFB) comes from official records from the National Gas Regulatory Entity (Enargas) which indicate that since Wednesday, September 18, Argentine gas pipelines stopped receiving gas molecules from the neighboring country.
The information was published yesterday, Tuesday, by the digital newspaper Río Negro of Argentina, which indicates that an early termination of the import contract was confirmed from Bolivia by sources from the state-owned company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).
The Bolivian state oil company recalled that “in the last addendum to the import contract, the end of the contract had already been anticipated until September 30, but in fact the shipments have already been closed.”
SUPPLY CRISIS
The import of natural gas from Bolivia began in 2006, when Argentina was facing a serious fuel supply crisis due to the fall in domestic production in that country, which saw the yields of the Loma La Lata mega-deposit decline month after month.
The solution found by Energía Argentina Sociedad Anónima (Enarsa) was to sign an import contract with Bolivia that last year involved imports worth US$ 900 million, and which originally extended until December 2025.
The early termination of this contract is due to the reversal works on the Northern Gas Pipeline, which will allow replacing the gas imported from Bolivia with national production from Vaca Muerta, reports the Río Negro newspaper.
But this work is not yet complete, and the estimated date for the start of operation of the first part of it is not until October 10, although there is already talk of the middle of the month.
To meet the gas demand of the northern Argentine provinces, Enarsa signed an import agreement with Chile in June, which began to be implemented this month, with the entry of gas through the Norandino Gas Pipeline, which links the southern country with Salta.
Since Chile does not have its own production, the fluid that enters Argentina is liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from overseas.
