CAPITAL: Buenos Aires
MONETARY UNIT: Peso
REFINING CAPACITY: 661,800 b/d
OIL PRODUCTION: 806,700 b/d
OIL RESERVES: 2.8 billion bbl
GAS RESERVES: 24.2 tcf
The petroleum industry in Argentina and much of the rest of Latin America experienced a turnaround in 1999 with the rebound of oil and gas prices.
Several key upstream and downstream events, including two world class acquisitions, contributed to the brightened outlook.
Repsol SA of Spain paid $13.1 billion at midyear for Yacimientos Petroliferas Fiscales, Argentina`s largest corporation and Latin America`s largest publicly owned oil and gas company. The firm was renamed Repsol-YPF SA. Repsol already owned a majority of Astra Capsa.
The government moved to require Repsol to reduce its natural gas market share, cut refining capacity, and divest service stations.
Late in the year Repsol-YPF and Brazil`s Petrobras proposed to extend cooperative activities in exploration and production, gas liquids, pipelines, service stations, and marketing.
Chevron acquired Petrolera Argentina San Jorge, one of the country`s top producers, in late 1999. San Jorge accounted for 8% of Argentina`s oil production, with gross operated output of 78,000 b/d of oil and 40 MMcfd of gas. San Jorge`s reserves were 180 million bbl of oil equivalent.
Argentina had more than 40 drilling rigs in operation late in the year, versus only 25 in January.
CMS Energy Corp. and Chile`s Endesa started up the $750 million GasAtacama pipeline-power project at midyear. The 585-mile, 20 in. line from Salta, Argentina, to Mejillones, Chile, would eventually ship 300 MMcfd of gas across the Andes.
