Argentina has not requested another FSRU from Excelerate Energy for next winter, a company executive confirmed.
The South American country plans lower LNG imports this year.
Derek Wong, Excelerate's Vice President of Government Relations, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Houston CERAWeek conference that the FSRU that the company has in service, the only import facility in Argentina, might be enough to meet demand again this year, depending on the weather conditions.
Costly LNG imports have been a problem for Argentina in the past, but increasing domestic output of natural gas has allowed lower imports of gas via pipeline from Bolivia and also of LNG cargoes in recent years.
Argentina's Economy Vice Minister and Head of Energy, Daniel Gonzalez said earlier this week at the conference that this year the country would import fewer LNG cargoes than last year, but declined to give details.
Cold winters in the Southern Hemisphere typically increase gas consumption in Argentina, sometimes creating the need to put another FSRU in service.
Last year, only one FSRU was needed to import 30 LNG cargoes during the winter, while in the two previous years, between 41 and 44 cargoes were imported through FSRUs at Bahia Blanca and Escobar.
Following President Javier Milei's economic reforms, last year, Argentina had a $5.7 bill surplus in its energy trade balance, a big achievement for a country that had struggled to cover the cost of energy imports in previous years, the newswire reported.
