據石油世界期刊4月5日布宜諾斯艾利斯報道，阿根廷能源部長Dario Martinez表示，阿根廷預計價格激勵計劃將在未來幾年扭轉天然氣產量下滑的局面，但今年LNG進口量將增加，包括可能通過第二個浮動存儲和再氣化裝置(FSRU)。

他在3月30日晚些時候接受當地電視臺Telefe Neuken采訪時表示，生產商正在投資(天然氣)資源。我們希望創造一個良性循環，確保阿根廷獲得更多天然氣，減少天然氣進口。

政府在去年12月啟動了獎勵方案，建立了長期天然氣供應合同拍賣制度，目標是每年向分銷商和發電廠預售7000萬立方米/日（平均消費量為1.4億立方米/日的一半）的供應，加上5-9月寒冷月份的額外量。在第一次招標中，以平均3.50美元/百萬英熱單位的價格授予了6700萬立方米/天的供貨合同，而在第二次招標中，以約4.70美元/百萬英熱的價格額外授予了450萬立方米/天的寒冷季節交貨合同。

根據數據顯示，2月份天然氣產量從2019年7月的最新峰值1.444億立方米/日下降21%至1.145億立方米/日，主要原因是價格從2019年的3.50美元/百萬英熱單位下降至2020年的2.50美元/百萬英熱單位以下，該業務利潤降低。

隨著需求在冬季達到1.8億立方米/天的峰值和經濟從2020年的衰退中復蘇，今年的進口量可能會從2020年的日均1990萬立方米/天增加，以避免短缺。阿根廷央行2月底對經濟學家進行的一項調查顯示，在2020年經濟預計下降11%后，今年經濟有望增長6.2%。

郝芬 譯自 石油世界期刊

原文如下：

Argentina to incentive gas output,LNG imports to raise

Argentina's government expects a pricing incentives program will turn around a slide in natural gas output in the next few years, but LNG imports are poised to rise this year, including via a possible second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), Energy Secretary Dario Martinez said.

"Producers are investing in [gas] resources," he said late March 30 in an interview with Telefe Neuquen, a local TV broadcaster. "We want to create a virtuous cycle that guarantees more gas for Argentina and reduces gas imports."

The secretariat launched the incentives program in December, creating a system of auctions for long-term gas supply contracts with the goal of pre-selling 70 million cu m/d — half of the 140 million cu m/d of average consumption — of supplies each year to distributors and power plants, plus additional amounts during the cold months of May to September. In the first tender, contracts were awarded for supplying 67 million cu m/d at an average of $3.50/MMBtu, while in the second an additional 4.5 million cu m/d was awarded for deliveries during the cold season at about $4.70/MMBtu.

The commitments come after gas output dwindled 21% to 114.5 million cu m/d in February from a most recent peak of 144.4 million cu m/d in July 2019, largely because a decline in prices to less than $2.50/MMBtu in 2020 from $3.50/MMBtu in 2019 made the business less profitable, according to data from the secretariat.

With demand peaking at 180 million cu m/d in the winter, imports likely will increase this year from an average of 19.9 million cu m/d in 2020 to avert shortages as the economy recovers from a slump in 2020. The economy is poised to grow 6.2% this year after an estimated 11% contraction in 2020, according to a late-February survey of economists by Argentina's central bank.