As part of an international tour by President Javier Milei, YPF and the Italian energy company ENI will sign a preliminary agreement this Friday in Rome to advance to the third phase of the Argentina LNG megaproject, which involves the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth USD 100 billion over the next twenty years. The signing will be led by YPF President Horacio Marín and ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi, with the participation of Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The agreement, known as a head of agreement, represents a key step before the Final Investment Decision (FID), which YPF expects to reach before the end of the year. This stage follows the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in April and defines the main commercial terms of the contract, although it is not yet binding.
A project that will change Argentina's energy balance
The partnership with ENI will focus on developing infrastructure to extract, transport, liquefy, and export gas from Vaca Muerta through floating units installed in the province of Río Negro. The intention is to install two liquefaction vessels with a capacity of 6 million tons per year (MTPA) each, which represents a gas volume close to 100% of Argentina's current production.
In total, the Argentina LNG project plans the installation of six offshore vessels, capable of producing 28 MTPA, equivalent to 141 million m³ per day. If fully completed, it would rank among the largest global initiatives in the sector. According to the International Gas Union (IGU), this figure matches the number of floating plants operating worldwide.
