Secretary of Energy Resolution No. 706/2021: Registry of Liquified Natural Gas Operators
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Oil & Gas Department Report | Secretary of Energy Resolution No. 706/2021: Registry of Liquified Natural Gas Operators
Dear Sir or Madam,
The Secretariat of Energy (“SE”) issued Resolution 706/2021 –published on 07/27/2021 in the Official Gazette– (the “Resolution”), which established the Registry of Liquified Natural Gas (“LNG”) Operators (the “Registry”) (Resolution, Sec. 1).
All participants involved in the LNG industry, such as producers, storage tankers, carriers, and traders, shall register with the Registry in accordance with their correspondent category (Annex I) and shall comply with general and particular requirements of Annex II (Resolution, Sec. 3).
The Registry’s application shall be addressed to the National Economy and Regulatory Directorate, while the National Refining and Trading Directorate shall oversee safety and technical matters. (Resolution, Sec. 4).
Information provided by registered parties shall permanently be updated (Resolution, Sec. 7). In addition, the registered parties shall obtain a safety certificate pursuant to Res. SE 414/21 and comply with safety measures set forth in Annex III (Resolution, Sec. 9).
Non-compliance with the obligations set forth by the Resolution shall be subject to penalties in accordance with Annex IV, which include sanctions such as fines between 50,000 to 160,000 liters of gas, among others (Resolution, Sec. 10).
Moreover, the Resolution established an LNG export regime (the “Export Regime”). Prospective exporters shall obtain authorization to export, which shall be subject to the following requirements: (i) registration with the Registry; (ii) submission of a request to export LNG; (iii) obtention of a certificate of registration of such prospective LNG export; (iv) submission of evidence that the product (LNG) has been previously offered to Argentine-resident buyers, by following a mechanism established to this end, which includes offering and publishing the product in the SE’s website; and (v) prospective exporters shall comply with all obligations under the Registry and safety standards.
Finally, the Resolution established that the enforcement authority may authorize uninterruptible LNG exports under the Export Regime for up to 20 years, provided that certain conditions are met, including safety measures and no interference with natural gas transmission system.
Please, do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information on this matter.
Sincerely,
Ricardo Castañeda
José Carlos Cueva
Gonzalo Viña