Mining, Hydrocarbons Take the Lead in Argentina's Investment Program

Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Since last year, Argentina has received 14 applications for the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) program, which is aimed at attracting companies in exchange for fiscal and legal benefits. The combined project applications received by the government amount to US$16.5 billion in investments.

Guillermo Francos, the Argentine government's chief of staff, presented an update on the program during his address to the Senate.

Of the 14 projects applications received, three relate to power generation capacity worth US$672 million, one is for the development of a port for US$290 million, and another one is for the iron and steel industry, worth US$296 million.

Meanwhile, hydrocarbons and mining dominate the list, with five lithium projects worth US$4.66 billion. The largest of these, the Rincon lithium project, owned by Rio Tinto (London, England) and valued at US$2.7 billion, has already been approved for the RIGI. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project and Plants databases can click here for the project report and click here for the plant profile.

One gold project and a copper project also feature in the list presented by the government with investments projected at US$1 billion and US$227 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, the midstream Vaca Muerta Sur development, which aims to transport oil from Vaca Muerta to an export terminal in Rio Negro, has also been approved for the RIGI, and it will amount to US$2.48 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Oil & Gas Pipelines and Terminals project databases can click here for the project reports.

The largest project in terms of investment is the PAE-Golar Southern Energy development, which will add a total processing and export capacity of 27 million cubic meters of natural gas per day (M3/d), with investments of US$6.87 billion. This project has also been accepted for the RIGI. Subscribers can click here for the project reports and click here for the plant profile.

The four approved projects represent investments of US$12.29 billion. More projects could be subscribed to the RIGI as the government reviews the current applications.

The RIGI includes tax incentives, customs and trade breaks, foreign exchange benefits, legal stability, as well as strategic export support for special projects. To be eligible for the RIGI benefits, projects in sectors such as power supply, mining or steel must be above US$200 million in value, while for liquefied natural gas exports or offshore oil and gas they should be above US$300 million or US$600 million.

The government's objective is to incentivize Argentine exports of raw materials, rekindle the economy, generate jobs, and increase foreign currency flows.

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