Engie's regional subsidiary in Chile will sell around 85 mcm of gas to Argentina, to meet rising demand during the upcoming winter in the southern hemisphere. Engie will source gas from the Mejillones LNG import terminal in northern Chile (63% owned by the company) and transport it through its E-CL's pipeline and across the Atacama desert to Argentina.
Under a second gas supply contract, Argentina will import 3 mcm/d from the Quintero LNG import terminal (operated by Endesa, Chilean state-owned hydrocarbon producer ENAP and gas distribution company Metrogas).
These contracts highlight the improving relationships between Chile and Argentina, which degraded in the mid-2000s when Argentina cut off gas exports to Chile when its own supply reduced. Argentina is now seeking to ramp up its domestic production, mainly from the large untapped shale oil and gas resources in the Néuquen province, and expects to resume gas exports to Chile. Until then, Argentina mainly imports gas from Bolivia but has to find alternative suppliers to meet peak winter demand.