On July 10th, 2019, Decree No. 465 (the “Decree”), issued by President Macri, has been published in the Official Gazette. By means of the Decree, the Secretary of Government of Energy (the “SGE”) has been instructed to call a public national and international tender with the purpose of awarding a new natural gas transport license for a new facility. This new infrastructure project entails the design and construction of a natural gas pipeline that will connect the Neuquén’s Subzone with the cities of Salliqueló and San Nicolás, both located in the province of Buenos Aires.

Pursuant to the Decree, the new transport license shall include a special regime lasting 17 years as from commercial operation date. The main terms of this special regime are summarized below:

  1. The licensee’s remuneration shall be freely negotiated with the users of the gas pipeline;
  2. The licensee’s remuneration shall not impact in the natural gas residential end users’ rates;
  3. The terms and conditions of the tender to be called by the SGE shall provide a partial award of pipeline’s capacity. The remaining capacity shall be assigned through public tenders, in compliance with the applicable regulations.

Finally, the Decree provides that Law No. 24,076 -that rules natural gas’ transportation and distribution-, shall be the project’s legal framework, instead of the Law No. 17,319 -that recognizes the operating concessionaire’s right to transport its hydrocarbons-. However, as long as the special regime remains effective, Law No. 24,076, Title IX, Chapter I provisions to the extent they contradict the Decree, shall not be applicable.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact either Nicolás Eliaschev, Javier Constanzó or Juan Pablo Filippini.