Despegue ← Projects Proyecto RIGI
The 31 projectsPROJECT ▾
Neuquén
YPF 'LLL Oil' (shale-oil mega-development)Pluspetrol - Bajo del Choique / La InvernadaTecpetrol - Los Toldos II EstePampa Energía - Rincón de ArandaTGS - Natural gas liquids (NGL) project, Tratayén - Bahía BlancaAmpliación Mega - natural gas liquids (NGL)
San Juan
Vicuña (Josemaría + Filo del Sol) — copper, gold and silverEl Pachón - copper, silver and molybdenum (Glencore)Los Azules — copper cathodes (McEwen Copper)Gualcamayo — Deep Carbonates (DCP): gold and silver (Minas Argentinas)Leaching Phases 8 and 9 expansion — Veladero Mine (gold)
Catamarca
Agua Rica / MARA — copper, gold, silver and molybdenum (Glencore)Salar Tres Quebradas (3Q), stage 2 — lithium carbonate (LIEX/Zijin)Fénix — Phase 1B Expansion: lithium carbonate (Minera del Altiplano / Rio Tinto)Hombre Muerto Oeste (HMW) — lithium carbonate (Galan)
Río Negro
Argentina LNG (YPF, Eni and XRG)Southern Energy - floating LNG (Argentina LNG, Hilli phase)Vaca Muerta Oleoducto Sur (VMOS)San Matías Gas Pipeline (San Matías Pipeline S.A.) - evacuation of Vaca Muerta gas to the Atlantic
Salta
Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes (PPG)Rincón Project — lithium carbonate (Rio Tinto)Diablillos — gold and silver (Salta/Catamarca)Sal de Oro II — lithium carbonate (POSCO)
Buenos Aires
Fértil Pampa — urea and ammonia plant in Bahía BlancaSidersa Argentine Steel Project — long steel productsOlavarría Wind Farm (P.E. Olavarría) — wind generation (GEAR I / PCR + ArcelorMittal Acindar)
Mendoza
PSJ Cobre Mendocino (San Jorge) — copper and goldEl Quemado Solar Park and Annexes — photovoltaic generation (Luz del Campo SA / YPF Luz)
Jujuy
Cauchari-Olaroz Expansion — lithium carbonate (Exar)
La Pampa
Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline expansion (ex-GPNK) - TGS
Santa Fe
Timbúes Multipurpose Terminal — port infrastructure (Terminal Timbúes SA)
ESEN
up to date · reviewed Aug 30, 2026
Energy - LNG (liquefaction and export)/Río Negro
approved

Southern Energy - floating LNG (Argentina LNG, Hilli phase)

regime-eligible assets
2.825USD M
Capacidad de producción aprobada por el RIGI
Between 1,500,000 and 2,200,000 tonnes of LNG a year, «dependiendo la disponibilidad de abastecimiento de gas» (art. 1 of the resolution)tonnes of LNG per year, production
Capacidad de licuefacción combinada
2.4 MTPA the Hilli Episeyo and 3.5 MTPA the MKII
Hilli Episeyo
Length 294 m, beam 63 m, draft 20 m. Four PRICO liquefaction trains from Black & Veatch, of 0.5 to 0.7 MTPA each. Storage of 125,000 m³ of LNG in 6 Moss-type spherical tanks. Feed gas requirement of 10.477 MM STDm³/d on average and 11.327 MMSTm³/d at maximum. Inlet pressure of 50 to 70 barg. Discharge of up to 10,000 m³/hour of LNG. A 1975 vessel converted into a liquefaction terminal in 2017 by Keppel Yard, in Singapore; at the date of the agreement it was operating in Cameroon
operator
Southern Energy S.A.

Floating LNG project to export Vaca Muerta gas. Although the plant is in Río Negro, it monetizes Neuquén gas: it is key to the evacuation/monetization thesis for associated gas. ~6 MTPA with 2 vessels; first exports around end of 2027. The supply bottleneck was cleared: the San Matías pipeline (approved under RIGI, FID done) connects Tratayén with San Antonio Oeste to feed the plant.

Summary
share among the 24 approved RIGI projectstotal USD 42,134 M
Southern Energy6.7%
the other 23USD 39,309 M
what stage it is atunder construction prob Aug 4, 2026 ↗

How to supply it

what we have for a supplier, and how to request it

What we have on this project for a supplier

How to get in
2 registration routes, with their status · 8 requirements with the rule that sets each one · 5 steps in order, with their timing

Who decides the purchase, who you invoice and where a new supplier registers.

What it buys and when
5 phases, with what each one buys · 3 happening now

Which lines each phase buys and when the window opens for each one.

What it is missing
1 service it will need and has no supplier for yet

Which they are, why it will need them and who could provide them.

Who is already in
8 companies with a contract on the works

Who they are, what each one does and how to sell to them.

All of this is surveyed and verified against its source. Crossed with what you sell —which of them your products suit, how to reach it and when— it is in your company report. Request the report

Does your company fit into Southern Energy?

We cross what you manufacture or do against the 5 phases of this project and tell you which ones you fit into and when each one buys. Two pages, with the evidence behind them.

Where my company can get in

The project

what it is, the route, the owners, the works and the contractors

What it is and why it exists

Two vessels moored in the San Matías Gulf, off the Río Negro coast, that receive gas through a subsea pipeline, chill it until it turns liquid and load it onto carriers bound for Europe and Asia. There is no onshore plant: the factory is the ship. They are operated by Southern Energy, a company owned by Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa, Harbour Energy and Golar, the shipping company providing the two floating units.

Vaca Muerta produces more gas than Argentina consumes, and there is no one to sell the surplus to: gas only travels far if it is liquefied. Liquefying on an already-built vessel instead of erecting an onshore plant saves years and billions, which is why the project starts with the Hilli Episeyo, already operating in Cameroon. What made it financeable was the package: the RIGI approval in 2025, two twenty-year export authorizations and an agreement with Río Negro freezing the tax regime for thirty. On that basis the vessel charter contracts were signed — twenty years, payable whether the ships operate or not.

Where it runs and how much it can move

MKII

Length 392.4 m, beam 61 m, draft 27 m. Two PRICO trains with two turbo-compressors per train. Storage of 147,000 m³ in 4 Moss-type spherical tanks. Inlet pressure of 50 to 70 barg. Dry-dock conversion of an LNG carrier launched in 2004, inserting a new hull section amidships. It is the Golar FLNG Mark II concept, an evolution of the Mark I developed for the Hilli and the Gimi verif May 4, 2026 ↗

San Antonio Oeste compressor plant

Installed capacity of 52,500 kW. At the start it compresses the gas arriving from the General San Martín pipeline, taken at the outlet of the San Antonio Oeste compressor plant, at a pressure of 40 kg/cm²g guaranteed by Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. verif May 4, 2026 ↗

SESA onshore section

A 30-inch pipeline, design pressure of 80 kg/cm²g and roughly 14 to 15 km long, buried, carbon steel, with three-layer coating and cathodic protection. It carries the gas from the head facility to a point on the coast (tie-in), with an anchor block, an insulating joint and a sectioning valve verif May 4, 2026 ↗

Subsea pipelines

Two pipelines roughly 5.5 km long and 20 and 24 inches in diameter, carrying the gas from the coast to the mooring and supply device for the FLNG units, installed on the seabed at a depth of 35 meters verif May 4, 2026 ↗

Logistics base

At Puerto San Antonio Este, to support the FLNG units and the LNG carriers verif May 4, 2026 ↗

Mooring

A Single Point Mooring (SPM) device of the SSY type (Submerged Swivel and Yoke): a piled mooring base with a rotating turret and a yoke arm connected at two points to the bow of the FLNG by twin chains, allowing the vessel to rotate 360° around the base. The first unit, the Hilli Episeyo, stays moored some 4.5-7 km offshore throughout the project's operating life verif May 4, 2026 ↗

Who owns it

Southern Energy S.A. (SESA): Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy and Golar LNG prob Apr 14, 2026 ↗

What other projects it links to

What this project enables or needs outside the province, and through what mechanism.

Río NegroThe Dedicated Pipeline of San Matías Pipeline S.A verif May 4, 2026 ↗+

is this project's continuous supply infrastructure

Decreto 439/26 states that San Matías Pipeline S.A. will build a dedicated pipeline to carry gas from Vaca Muerta to the Golfo San Matías «que tendrá como finalidad el aprovisionamiento de forma continua de gas natural a las unidades flotantes de licuefacción». The consortium's own website confirms it: the project expects both terminals to be able to operate year-round from 2028, «lo que supone la construcción de un gasoducto dedicado» verif verif May 4, 2026 ↗

The works, milestone by milestone

Jun 29, 2026supplier regime

Río Negro's Boletín Oficial publishes Decreto 618/26, which regulates the Río Negro supplier regime and creates an exception route for newly established companies through a Relocation Plan with milestones at 24 months.

Jun 26, 2026rigi accession

The Ministerio de Economía approves the RIGI accession of San Matías Pipeline S.A., owner of the dedicated pipeline that supplies this project, through Resolución 873/2026: USD 1,300 million of investment and an accession date of 1 Jun 2026.

Jun 9, 2026marine services

The award of the terminal's marine services for 10 years to the consortium of Meridian Transportes Marítimos and Adani Harbour International FZCO is published: USD 70 million, 4 high-power tugs, 1 AHTS and 1 crew transfer vessel, with exports expected from 2027.

May 4, 2026provincial law

Río Negro's Boletín Oficial publishes Ley 5849, which ratifies the Acta Acuerdo with Southern Energy and San Matías Pipeline, with the full Acta as an annex.

Apr 14, 2026provincial agreement

Río Negro and Southern Energy sign the export agreement: an Acta Acuerdo on tax regime and regulatory stability with Southern Energy S.A. and San Matías Pipeline S.A., ratified by provincial Decreto 439/2026.

Oct 23, 2025investment decision

Golar LNG takes the final investment decision on the MK II on 6 Aug 2025 and on 23 Oct 2025 announces the conditions precedent of the 20-year charter as satisfied: 3.5 million tonnes a year of nameplate capacity, USD 400 million of annual EBITDA for the owner and USD 8,000 million of 20-year backlog, for this second unit alone.

Sep 1, 2025local employment

Río Negro's Boletín Oficial publishes together Ley 5804 on local labor, the 80/20 rule, and Ley 5805 on Río Negro local content, which requires 60% of contracts: the corridor's local-capture package came out in the same issue.

Aug 25, 2025second export authorization

Resolución 353/2025 of the Secretaría de Energía: second Free Export Authorization, for the MK II, valid from 1 Sep 2028 to 31 Aug 2058. The stability guarantee is made conditional on completion of the dedicated pipeline, whose commercial operation is estimated for May 2028.

May 5, 2025rigi accession

The Ministerio de Economía approves the accession of Southern Energy S.A. (CUIT 30-71858062-1) to the RIGI through Resolución 559/2025, with approved output of 1.5 to 2.2 million tonnes of LNG a year depending on gas supply availability.

May 2, 2025investment decision

Golar LNG takes the final investment decision on the 20-year charter of the Hilli Episeyo and signs the definitive agreements for the MK II. The ownership split it declares is Pan American Energy 30%, YPF 25%, Pampa Energía 20%, Harbour Energy 15% and Golar LNG 10%.

Apr 28, 2025export authorization

The Secretaría de Energía grants Southern Energy the first Free LNG Export Authorization through Resolución 165/2025, valid from 1 Jul 2027 to 30 Jun 2057.

What it leaves in Río Negro

jobs, works, taxes, promises and the outlook

How many jobs it creates

In construction

1,900 direct and indirect jobs during the construction stage, mainly of local origin prob Aug 20, 2026 ↗

The works that stay behind

The infrastructure that stays standing once the works end, with its size and its source.

Dedicated pipeline from Tratayén to the Río Negro coast

Productive
no figureapproximately 470 km, 36 inches, close to 28 million cubic meters a day

San Matías Pipeline S.A., which operates it with its own RIGI accession. It is fixed gas transport infrastructure that outlives the vessels and stays as installed capacity to move gas out of the basin.

Resolución 353/2025 makes the stability guarantee of the second export authorization conditional on completion of the dedicated pipeline of approximately 470 km and 36 inches, with capacity close to 28 million cubic meters a day and commercial operation estimated for May 2028.

Two compressor stations for gas pressure at the vessel

Power
2

stations

The supply system for the floating units; they are fixed onshore facilities that remain for as long as the terminal operates.

The consortium itself states that the project requires building «dos estaciones compresoras para asegurar una presión óptima de gas en el buque», in addition to the interconnection to the trunk pipelines and the onshore pipeline to the coast.

Onshore pipeline from the trunk interconnection to the coast

Productive
1

complete onshore pipeline, from the interconnection to the mooring point

The terminal's supply system; it stays on Río Negro soil as transport capacity towards the coast.

Among the works the consortium states are needed are «un gasoducto terrestre hasta la costa» and «dos gasoductos submarinos que se conecten con ambos buques». The list is the issuer's own and carries no dimensions.

Soft yoke mooring systems of the two units

Productive
2

systems anchored to the seabed, with their piles

The mooring point stays in the gulf for as long as the operation lasts. Its flip side is what does NOT stay: the design removes the need for a jetty, so this project leaves behind no berthing infrastructure.

The soft yoke mooring systems supplied by NOV let the two units rotate around a single mooring point, aligning with environmental forces, in a solution that removes the need for fixed infrastructure such as jetties. It is the first application of this technology in Argentine waters.

What it already pays in taxes and royalties

Item by item, with the rule that sets it. A rate is not the same as what is collected, nor what is received the same as what is projected.

5%Community Contribution (one-off) — the part payable by Southern Energy S.A. verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
USD 12,000,000 payable by Southern Energy S.A., in two equal tranches of USD 6,000,000: the first within 90 days of the legislature ratifying the Acta, and the second within 30 days of the start of commercial operation of the first FLNG, the Hilli Episeyo verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: A fixed dollar amount, payable in pesos at the Banco de la Nación Argentina selling rate of the business day before payment
Who it goes to: a mixed split
Acta Acuerdo of 14 Apr 2026, art. 5.1 items (i) and (ii); the split to the municipality is set by art. 4 of Ley provincial 5849
Variable Community Contribution (annual) — payable by Southern Energy S.A. only verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
From USD 0 to USD 20,000,000 a year depending on the index: above 10 US$/MMBTU pays USD 20,000,000; above 9.75 and up to 10 pays USD 17,500,000; above 9.50 and up to 9.75 pays USD 12,500,000; above 9 and up to 9.50 pays USD 10,000,000; above 8.75 and up to 9 pays USD 2,000,000; above 8.50 and up to 8.75 pays USD 1,500,000; above 8.25 and up to 8.50 pays USD 750,000; and below 8.25 US$/MMBTU no payment is due verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: A scale on the year's LNG FOB INDEX in US$/MMBTU, defined as one third of the BRENT INDEX plus one third of the HH INDEX plus one third of the JKM INDEX
Who it goes to: the province
Acta Acuerdo art. 5.2, ratified by Ley provincial 5849
USD 1,220,000Fee for special use of the coastal public domain, water royalties and fee for use and protection of water bodies verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
USD 1,220,000 a year, payable in advance by 31 January each year from the first year of actual water use. If actual use starts after 31 January, the first payment is made within 60 days of the start and is adjusted for the remaining days of the calendar year verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: A fixed annual dollar amount, not linked to output or to revenue
Who it goes to: the province
Ley Q 2.951 art. 45 and Ley Q 2.952 arts. 43 and 172; the amount is set by Acta Acuerdo art. 4.3
Operational Control and Oversight Fee for Hydrocarbon Transport verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
The pipeline area of Southern Energy S.A. assigned to the FLNG Project is 420,000 m² —the onshore pipeline plus the two offshore pipelines, the Hilli's and the MKII's— and the Inspection Cost is $215 per square meter, adjustable annually on 31 January by INDEC's Consumer Price Index for the immediately preceding month verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: Pipeline area assigned to the project, in square meters, times an inspection cost per square meter
Who it goes to: the province
Ley provincial N 5.594 art. 11; the area and the cost are set by Acta Acuerdo art. 4.4
Environmental inspection, control and oversight fee verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
Four components, with the parameters of Southern Energy S.A. already stated in the Acta: pipeline transport, which is length times the length coefficient plus capacity times the transport coefficient, all times the Unit of Value, with 20 km of length, 26,500 thousand m³/d of capacity, a length coefficient of 4.10 UV per km and a transport coefficient of 2.50; tank storage on a volume of 273,000 m³ with a coefficient of 1.00 UV, «abonada por SESA únicamente»; a loading terminal at 1,500 UV plus 500 UV for each of the 3 loading points, also payable by SESA only; and special-waste generator category 5 at 1,414.3 UV. During construction a monthly control and oversight fee of 300 UV also applies verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: Formulas in Units of Value on pipeline length, transport capacity, tank volume and loading points
Who it goes to: the province
Ley M N 3.266 and Resolución SEEA 170/25; the formulas and parameters are set by Acta Acuerdo art. 4.5
Turnover tax and stamp duty: exempt, and the turnover tax exemption also reaches direct suppliers, only for the start-up works verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
Southern Energy S.A. is exempt from turnover tax (Ley I-1301) and from stamp duty, and is removed from the collection, withholding, advance and on-account rolls for turnover tax «en forma automática sin necesidad de trámites». The turnover tax exemption —not the stamp duty one— extends to the lessors or owners of the FLNGs and to direct suppliers of goods, works or services, solely for their participation in carrying out the infrastructure works needed for start-up verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: Exemption on the activities carried out to meet the objectives of Resolución 559/2025 of the national Ministerio de Economía
Who it goes to: the province
Acta Acuerdo arts. 4.6 and 4.7, ratified by Ley provincial 5849; the stamp duty exemption is repeated in art. 3 of the law
Territorial Development Contribution: exempt verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
Southern Energy S.A. and San Matías Pipeline S.A. are exempt from the Territorial Development Contribution provided for in article 10 of Ley provincial Q 5.594 verif May 4, 2026 ↗
Base: The contribution provided for in art. 10 of Ley provincial Q 5.594 for hydrocarbon transport projects
Who it goes to: the province
Acta Acuerdo art. 4.2, ratified by Ley provincial 5849

Who promised what

Who promised what, with a date and with how to check it. We record them whatever the political colour.

not startedSouthern Energy S.A. · That local suppliers provide 50% of the goods and services required during the project's operation prob Aug 20, 2026 ↗+
Consortium that owns the FLNG Project · 2026-08-20
How it is checked: Against the Río Negro Suppliers Register of Ley 5805 and the reports that Decreto 618/26 requires Obligated Parties to file. The corporate commitment is 50% in OPERATION; the legal obligation is 60% of contracts across all stages.
not startedSouthern Energy S.A. · Exports of more than USD 20,000 million between 2027 and 2035 prob Aug 20, 2026 ↗+
Consortium that owns the FLNG Project · 2026-08-20
How it is checked: Export statistics from INDEC and the Secretaría de Energía for the LNG category, once the first vessel enters operation.
not startedBen Fitzgerald · Leaving local capability installed in the South Atlantic, and not just delivering the two facilities prob Jan 2026 ↗+
CEO of CoreMarine, lead contractor for the mooring and hook-up of the two units · 2026-01-01
How it is checked: Against the Río Negro Suppliers Register of Ley 5805 and the quarterly procurement tracking the Province publishes: which local companies and trades end up certified for diving, heavy lift and offshore operations when the campaign ends.

What changes in Río Negro if the project works

The first vessel starts in the last four months of 2027 and the second at the end of 2028. From then on, the San Matías Gulf exports Argentine gas every day for twenty years.

What changes on the Río Negro coast is not who holds the export license: it is that an industry appears which did not exist there. A vessel moored at a depth of 35 meters is not serviced from an office — it needs tugs, diving, subsea inspection, crew changes every 28 days two and a half hours' sailing from San Antonio Oeste, catering, spare parts and maintenance, and it needs all of that around the clock for the two decades the contract runs. That market has no owner in the province today.

And there is a window before that one. The subsea works and the assembly of the mooring systems demand trades the country barely trains for: saturation diving, underwater welding, subsea trenching, offshore heavy lifting. They are the first to be contracted and the ones with the least local competition.

For a Río Negro SME the way in is written into two laws: Ley 5805 requires 60% of contracting to go to registered Río Negro suppliers, and Ley 5804 requires 80% of staff to be Argentine with two years' residence in the province. Both also reach contractors and subcontractors, which is where the buying actually happens. And the Agreement extends the Turnover Tax exemption to direct suppliers of the infrastructure works, not just to the project owner.

What breaks itThat the dedicated pipeline is not there when the second vessel needs it. The first starts out supplied with surplus gas arriving through the San Martín pipeline, and that capacity is seasonal: it is enough to operate in the months of low domestic demand, not all year round. The pipeline that solves this belongs to another company and its start of operations is scheduled for May 2028.

Outlook to 2027-2029, built on the verified data of this page and our analytical framework. We also publish what would invalidate it.

What could stall it

risks and how to track them

What could stall it

Each risk, with who or what could trigger it.

2 judicial2 regulatorio1 ambiental1 logistico1 precio1 social1 tecnico9 riesgos
regulatorioThe export stability guarantee is conditioned by the very act that grants it: if the pipeline is not in operation, it falls awayThe national Secretaría de Energía, through art. 2 of Resolución 353/2025, on report IF-2025-88948099 of the Dirección Nacional de Economía y Regulación verif Aug 25, 2025 ↗+
Art. 2 of Resolución 353/2025 establishes that the LNG export stability guarantee provided for in art. 3 bis, fifth paragraph, of Ley 24.076 and in art. 9 of Annex II of Decreto 1.057/24 «quedará supeditada a la ejecución y puesta en operación del proyecto de infraestructura de transporte de gas natural comprometido por SESA». The report it cites concluded that at the export start date «no existe capacidad suficiente en el sistema de transporte de gas natural para evacuar los volúmenes objeto de exportación», and the same act records that if the infrastructure is not operational the company «asume la responsabilidad de gestionar por su cuenta y riesgo el servicio de transporte» verif Aug 25, 2025 ↗
logisticoThe vessel arrives before its pipeline, and supply in the interval depends on surpluses whose firm capacity nobody has publishedThe schedule stated by the consortium itself: a 20-year contract for the Hilli Episeyo from the second half of 2027 against the pipeline's commercial start-up estimated in May 2028 verif May 5, 2025 ↗+
The RIGI accession resolution itself explains the mechanism: «en la medida en que exista capacidad de transporte disponible desde la Cuenca Neuquina a los centros de consumo, el proyecto se alimentará de volúmenes tomados del GSM, que serán compensados con volúmenes adicionales a ser producidos y transportados desde Vaca Muerta», so that the local market's supply balance is not affected. It is also the reason for the approved production range: 1.5 MTPA as the base estimate and 2.2 MTPA only «de lograr el abastecimiento de gas durante todo el año» verif May 5, 2025 ↗
judicialA preventive environmental damage action before the federal courts seeking suspension of the worksThe Asociación Argentina de Abogados/as Ambientalistas and the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, with a filing in March 2026, invoking proximity to Península Valdés prob Mar 2026 ↗+
In March 2026 the Asociación Argentina de Abogados/as Ambientalistas and the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales filed before the Federal Courts a preventive environmental damage action against Southern Energy S.A. «y/o contra quienes resulten responsables» of the complex, with a request for an injunction to suspend the works until the environmental impact assessment of the whole project is completed. The procedural status could not be established: no subsequent ruling was located in open sources prob Mar 2026 ↗
judicialThe merits of the law that enabled activity in the gulf were never judgedThe plaintiffs' appeal to the Supreme Court, after Río Negro's Superior Tribunal de Justicia dismissed the action for lack of standing prob May 10, 2023 ↗+
Ley provincial 3.308 of 1999 banned pipelines and terminals in the Golfo San Matías; art. 15 of Ley 5.594, enacted on 9 Sep 2022, amended it and left only prospecting, exploration and production banned. verif The Superior Tribunal de Justicia dismissed the constitutional challenge on 10 May 2023 for lack of standing, without ruling on the merits, and the plaintiffs took the case to the Supreme Court. No Supreme Court ruling was located prob May 10, 2023 ↗
precioExposure to the LNG price within the vessels' charter formula itselfThe charter formula with Golar LNG, which cuts the hire if the FOB price falls from USD 7.5 to a floor of USD 6 per MMBtu verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
The provincial Variable Community Contribution regime puts numbers on the same sensitivity from the other side: below 8.25 US$/MMBTU of LNG FOB INDEX no payment is due to the Province, and the band above 10 US$/MMBTU pays USD 20,000,000 verif May 4, 2026 ↗
tecnicoThe mooring system is on the critical path: it is manufactured in Europe and needs a specialized vessel to installThe supply chain of the SSY-type SPM mooring, manufactured abroad, with import customs challenges declared by the project itself verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
Annex 1 of the Acta describes the mooring as an SSY-type SPM device that allows the floating unit to rotate 360 degrees, installed on the seabed at 35 meters depth. Without the mooring there is no anchoring of the floating units, and without anchoring there is no operation thesis verif May 4, 2026 ↗
regulatorioThe RIGI investment deadlines can be missed, and the act sets them with a figure and a dateArts. 3 and 4 of Resolución 559/2025, which set the 20% milestone in the first two years from notification and the 31 Dec 2035 deadline verif May 5, 2025 ↗+
Art. 3 requires evidencing, during the first and second year counted from notification of the resolution, an investment in computable assets equal to or greater than 20% of the minimum investment amount of art. 40 item c of the Annex to Decreto 749/24. The recitals give the committed amounts: USD 105,000,000 in the first year and USD 354,000,000 in the second, adding up to USD 459,000,000. Art. 4 sets 31 December 2035 as the deadline for the total minimum investment amount verif May 5, 2025 ↗
socialThe legal floor for local contracting may not be met, and the gap between registered and contracted companies is already largeThe regime of Ley 5805, which requires Obligated Parties to invite and to prefer Río Negro suppliers, with the provincial Register measuring the gap verif Sep 1, 2025 ↗+
Art. 10 of Ley 5805 lists the ways out of the preference regime, and one of them is that «no exista oferta de un proveedor registrado que cumpla con los estándares técnicos, de calidad y seguridad requeridos». The same article requires the Obligated Parties to justify in each case before the authority why they could not contract in the province, and establishes that «el Registro deberá llevar un detalle de los motivos informados por los Sujetos Obligados, a los efectos de su consideración oportuna en los programas de formación» verif Sep 1, 2025 ↗
ambientalChallenge to the public participation procedure of the public hearingsThe Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, which argues the hearings work as a «mero trámite administrativo», invoking ILO Convention 169 and the Escazú Agreement verif May 4, 2026 ↗+
At the public hearing for the second floating unit, on 16 Sep 2025, with more than 200 registered, the broad majority spoke in favor according to the provincial Government prob. The Río Negro legislature ratified the Acta Acuerdo on 30 Apr 2026 by 41 votes in favor to 3 against verif verif May 4, 2026 ↗

The permits the works need, and where each one stands.

obtained1
pending1
2 permits
Free Export Authorization for Liquefied Natural Gas

LNG Free Export Authorization Certificate issued under art. 1 of Resolución 353/2025 of the Energy Secretariat, detailed in Annex IF-2025-89103464-APN-SSCL#MEC. Art. 3 further requires compliance with the obligations in subsections a) to d) of art. 6 and a) and b) of art. 8 of Annex I of Resolución 145/2025 of the Energy Secretariat verif Aug 25, 2025 ↗

Provincial Environmental Impact Statement for the two floating units

The published Environmental Impact Statement could not be located. What is on record is the resolution CALLING the public hearing (RESOL-2024-707-E-GDERNE-SAYCC#SGG) and that the hearing for the second unit was held on 16 September 2025 unconf May 4, 2026

How to tell whether it is advancing

Observable facts that show whether the project is advancing, and where to look for each.

eventoThe re-tendering of the San Antonio Este Port concession+
Where: The acts of the San Antonio Este Port Authority and Río Negro's Boletín Oficial; the new concession's tender documents when published.
The current concession expires in early 2028 and goes back to tender, while the first vessel starts up in late 2027. It is the corridor's only anchor asset still without a defined owner: the tender documents decide on what terms and at what tariff whoever provides port logistics to the LNG project will be able to operate over the charter's 20 years.
eventoThe act approving the Environmental Impact Declaration, with its number+
Where: Río Negro's Boletín Oficial and the acts of the provincial Secretaría de Ambiente y Cambio Climático.
Golar LNG states to the market that environmental approval was obtained in both provinces, but there is no published act backing it: on the Neuquén side 65 gazettes were swept with a positive control and it does not appear. Until there is an act number, environmental approval is a corporate claim and not an act of the State, and it is the flank litigation comes in through.
trimestralThe project's first contract awarded to a company listed in the Río Negro Suppliers Register+
Where: The quarterly tracking of purchases from Río Negro suppliers published by the Government of Río Negro, and the Ley 5805 Register itself.
It separates the commitment from the fact. The consortium promises 50% local suppliers in operation and Ley 5805 requires 60% of contracts across all stages: until the first traceable award appears, both figures are a promise.
trimestralThe launch and yard departure of the second unit+
Where: Golar LNG's statements and quarterly results.
The second vessel is the one that doubles demand for marine and operating services, and its schedule sits outside the country. A yard delay shifts the contracting window of the full operating phase, which is the one that lasts 20 years.
eventoCommercial start-up of the dedicated pipeline+
Where: The acts of the Secretaría de Energía and the national Boletín Oficial.
Resolución 353/2025 makes the stability guarantee of the second export authorization conditional on the pipeline being completed, with commercial operation estimated in May 2028. If the pipeline is delayed, the one exposed is not the first vessel —supplied with existing capacity in the months of lower demand— but the second.

How we verified this

the act, the gaps and the sources

The RIGI act, in detail

Administrative file number

EX-2024-127875156- -APN-SCEYM#MEC verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Accession date

Apr 28, 2025 verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Publication in the Boletín Oficial

5 May 2025, notice 28261/25, signed by Luis Andrés Caputo verif May 5, 2025 ↗

The act’s articles, in detail

6 facts on the commitment
Investment commitment

20 % of the minimum investment amount, over the first two years verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Base it is calculated on

The recitals set out the amounts committed for that milestone: USD 105,000,000 in the first year and USD 354,000,000 in the second, adding up to USD 459,000,000, «exceeding twenty percent (20%) of the minimum investment amount» verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Total investment declared in the act

6.878 USD million — total investment declared by the applicant verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Assets computable under the regime

2.825 USD million — computable assets of stages 1 and 2 under the RIGI verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Vehículo de Proyecto Único

Southern Energy S.A., tax ID 30-71858062-1, registered at Leandro N. Alem 1180, Floor 9, Buenos Aires City. verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Who oversees compliance

The Energy Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, or whomever it delegates to, as the area with specific competence, for the oversight and control of compliance with ley 27.742 and its implementing rules (art. 8 of the resolution) verif May 5, 2025 ↗

How much it commits to invest, and how it pays for it

2 facts on the investment
First and second year from notification

Evidence an investment in computable assets equal to or above twenty percent (20%) of the minimum investment amount set out in art. 40 subsection c of the Annex to Decreto 749/24 (art. 3) verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Deadline for the minimum investment amount

31 December 2035, under point (iii) of article 177 of ley 27.742 (art. 4) verif May 5, 2025 ↗

What the regime gives in return

5 benefits of the regime
Project classification

A Long-Term Strategic Export Project in the «Oil and Gas» sector, under art. 1 of the resolution. Art. 7 instructs the RIGI Coordination Unit to register it in the Registry of Long-Term Strategic Export Projects created by art. 2 of annex I of decreto 749/24 verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Tax and customs

Art. 10 notifies ARCA of the creation of a special tax ID for the project vehicle and of the application of the tax and customs incentives in chapter IV of title VII of ley 27.742 verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Foreign exchange

Art. 11 notifies the Central Bank of the application of the foreign exchange incentives in chapter V of title VII of ley 27.742 verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Import exemption

Art. 5 approves the list of goods and services the project vehicle may import under the exemption in art. 190 of ley 27.742, in file RE-2025-23485922-APN-DTD#JGM. ⚠️ The list itself is not published in the notice verif May 5, 2025 ↗

Arbitration clause

Art. 6 accepts the arbitration clause proposed by Southern Energy S.A. and its shareholders, filed in file RE-2025-23486477-APN-DTD#JGM verif May 5, 2025 ↗

What we could not confirm

There are 17 in this project. Each says why it could not be confirmed and what it would take to close it.

H-01The value of the Unit of Value used to calculate the environmental fees of art. 4.5 of the Acta+

The Acta sets the coefficients and the formulas in UV, but does not publish the value of the UV, so none of the four components can be converted into pesos with what is available

What would close itResolución SEEA 170/25, which sets the Unit of Value, or the rule that updates it
H-02The peso amount of the Control and Oversight Fee on Southern Energy's pipelines+

Both factors are there (420,000 m² and $215 per m²) but the cost is adjusted annually by CPI and the Acta sets neither the base nor the date of the first adjustment. Multiplying them today would mean presenting our own calculation as a fact

What would close itThe act that sets the Inspection Cost in force and the date of its latest adjustment
H-03Whether any municipality has joined Ley 5849 and whether the monitoring committee that conditions the transfer of funds to San Antonio Oeste has been appointed+

Art. 6 of Ley 5849 only INVITES municipalities to join, and art. 4 conditions the transfer on approval by the Provincial Executive «a través de la comisión de seguimiento que se designe por reglamentación». The act appointing it was not located

What would close itThe regulation of Ley 5849 appointing the committee, and the municipal ordinances joining it
H-04The scope of the tax benefit at MUNICIPAL level+

The Province only undertakes to «realizar sus mejores esfuerzos» and to «instar a los municipios a adoptar medidas análogas». It is a best-efforts obligation: the provincial saving is firm, the municipal one is not guaranteed

What would close itOrdinances from San Antonio Oeste or Sierra Grande replicating the exemption
H-05The list of specific certifications required to supply the project (ISO, API, IRAM, IERIC, offshore approvals)+

The provincial register asks generically for «habilitaciones y certificaciones pertinentes» without listing them, CoreMarine's note explicitly says it does not detail the requirements, and Golar's generic suppliers page did not open

What would close itThe tender documents of a project bid, or the suppliers section of the FLNG operator
H-06The supplier development plan filed under the RIGI+

It exists with identifier RE-2025-07079097, required by art. 47 item l of Decreto 749/2024, but it is not published

What would close itThe plan's file, or its publication by the RIGI enforcement authority
H-07The project's permanent OPERATING employment, and the breakdown of construction employment by trade and by locality+

The only sealed figure is the construction one, and it comes from the consortium's corporate website. The figure of 850 jobs circulating in the press could not be verified in any primary source, and no source separates Southern Energy's headcount from San Matías Pipeline's

What would close itThe complete provincial Environmental Impact Study, or an employment report from Río Negro's Secretaría de Trabajo
H-08The number and date of the Environmental Impact Declaration approving the Environmental Impact Study of the two floating units+

What does exist is the resolution CONVENING the public hearing (RESOL-2024-707-E-GDERNE-SAYCC#SGG). The complete file is consulted in person at Colón 275, 2nd floor, Viedma, and no published Declaration was located. ⚠️ On the Neuquén side the gap is measured, not assumed: on the San Matías Pipeline, official gazettes 4540 to 4604 were read, covering continuously from 30 Jan 2026 to 18 Aug 2026, searching for the file number and the project's names: a single gazette matches, and it is the hearing notice already known. THE METHOD IS CONTROLLED —the same sweep does find the terms in gazette 4544— so the zero is not a false negative of the search. THE CONSEQUENCE: Golar LNG states to the market that environmental approval was obtained in both provinces, and that statement is NOT backed by a published act. It may be true and simply unpublished; what cannot be done is cite it as an act of the State. ⚠️ What this zero does NOT prove: that the resolution does not exist (it can be notified to the applicant without being published), nor anything about Río Negro, which is another jurisdiction with another procedure and where the sweep was not carried out.

What would close itThe Environmental Impact Declaration published in Río Negro's Boletín Oficial, or the administrative file of the provincial environmental agency
H-09The Annex to Resolución 353/2025, with the detail of the export authorization (volumes and conditions)+

The Boletín Oficial notice publishes the Annex as a separate download (IF-2025-89103464-APN-SSCL#MEC, download identifier 7446535) and the /pdf/download_anexo endpoint returns HTTP 500 to a scripted POST with all three parameter combinations tried. It is a limitation of automated access, not of the document: the file exists and is published

What would close itDownloading the annex from a browser session on the notice's page, or requesting it through the legislation search engine
H-10The firm transport capacity supplying the first vessel between its arrival and the pipeline's start-up+

Resolución 559/2025 explains the mechanism —surpluses from the Gasoducto General San Martín offset by additional volumes from Vaca Muerta— but does not publish the contracted firm capacity in figures, and neither of the two investigations found it

What would close itSESA's firm transport contract, or ENARGAS's approval of the allocated capacity
H-11The procedural status of the two court cases: the preventive environmental damage action of March 2026 and the 2023 appeal to the Supreme Court+

No subsequent ruling was located in open sources in either case. Of the 2026 action there is only the plaintiffs' filing, and of the 2023 case the only record, from the press, is that the plaintiffs took the case to the Supreme Court

What would close itThe case search of the federal judiciary or the Supreme Court register, by file number
H-12The degree of compliance with the 20% investment milestone in computable assets over the first two years+

The act sets the obligation and the committed amounts (USD 105,000,000 and USD 354,000,000) but no official publication of actual compliance was located

What would close itAn accreditation before the RIGI Coordination Unit, or an act of the Secretaría de Energía in its oversight role under art. 8 of Resolución 559/2025
H-13The project's PHYSICAL PHASE, with open primary evidence+

The physical phase is recorded as «under construction», but with a probable seal and on a single thread of evidence: the note saying the first year's supply arrives through a fifteen-kilometer link «already completed». A completed link is work carried out, and that is enough to state that construction started — not to say how far it has advanced. What still lacks primary backing is the bulk of the project: the vessels, the mooring and the subsea works, which sources still describe in the future tense. The evidence in circulation (pipe unloading at the port, more than 400 people working, a «60% progress») comes from press and press releases, and that 60% appears with the same wording in three outlets with neither numerator nor denominator. There is no progress report or act declaring it.

What would close itAn official construction progress report from the Province or the consortium, dated and on a measurable basis, or an environmental inspection act on site describing the state of the works.
H-14The official calculation model behind the Province's projection of «more than USD 490 million over 20 years»+

The gap between the USD 91 million in the coverage of 14 Apr 2026 and the «more than USD 490 million» in the press release of 30 Apr 2026 is not a research gap but an arithmetic one: the roughly 399 million of difference matches the Variable Contribution of art. 5.2 of the Acta at its top band sustained for twenty years (USD 20,000,000 a year times twenty gives 400), and 91 plus 400 gives 491, which is exactly what «more than USD 490 million» claims. What remains unconfirmed is that the Province did THAT sum: no source publishes the model, nor the index band it assumes, nor whether it counts twenty full years of variable contribution even though the second vessel does not arrive before late 2028 and the first payment falls due before 28 Feb 2029. Nor can the make-up of the fixed 55 million be verified: the Acta allows 24.4 to be reconstructed —coastal fee and water royalties, USD 1,220,000 a year— and leaves the rest in fees whose factors it sets but does not convert into dollars. The reconciliation is published as our own estimate in the dossier, never as a fact.

What would close itThe calculation annex of the provincial projection, or an official breakdown by concept and by year stating the assumed LNG FOB INDEX band and the number of years of variable contribution counted.
H-15Whether the port logistics base that supplies the operation exists, and who builds it+

This is the block where the two investigations contradict each other head-on and neither opened a document that settles it: one lists it as a permanent port facility that stays behind, and the other quotes the consortium's top executive saying in June 2026 that the base «does not exist yet» and that the company «is building» one. The difference between declared and built decides whether it is infrastructure that stays or works still unawarded, and therefore whether it is an open contracting window.

What would close itThe tender documents, the works permit or the act of the San Antonio Este Port Authority authorizing the facility; or a statement from the consortium declaring its status with a date.
H-16How many compressor plants remain in total and who owns each+

The consortium declares TWO compressor stations within the FLNG project's scope, and that has been recorded. What does not close is the system total: separately, the expansion of the Gasoducto General San Martín plant —the one supplying the first vessel in the initial stage— is attributed to a contractor, and another compressor plant is placed on the dedicated pipeline's route, which is another owner's work. It could not be determined whether the San Martín expansion is one of the two the consortium declares or a third set of works.

What would close itThe project's environmental impact study with the list of facilities, or the tender documents for the compression works.
H-17Whether Bahía Grande is an effective buyer for THIS project, and with what scope+

No open source places it within the scope of the LNG terminal. On this site it appears as the owner of an ocean-going tug, the BG Warrior, in installation work, with no source confirming it. That is why it is not named among the buyers of this project

What would close itA contract, a works report or a note from the consortium itself placing it within the scope of the LNG terminal, and not of the crude oil project (VMOS)
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Frequently asked questions

How much LNG will it produce?The «~6 MTPA» often published is the sum of the two vessels' capacities, not the range set by the accession act thesisverif+

The RIGI accession act, issued when the project had a single floating unit, approves a production capacity of between 1.5 and 2.2 million tonnes a year, «dependiendo la disponibilidad de abastecimiento de gas». The second unit, the MK II, was added later as an expansion of the same project. The nameplate capacities of the two vessels are 2.45 million tonnes a year for the Hilli Episeyo and 3.5 for the MK II, according to the Acta Acuerdo with Río Negro. verif ↗

How much does the project invest?It depends which magnitude you look at, and they are two different numbers from the same act: declared total investment is USD 6,878 million and the regime's computable assets —the figure we publish in the fact sheet— are USD 2,825 millionverif+

The difference, USD 4,053 million, is nobody's error: they are two different magnitudes often used as synonyms. ↗

What does the RIGI require in exchange for the benefits?Evidencing, in the first two years from notification, an investment in computable assets of at least 20%verif+

The recitals give the amounts committed for that milestone: USD 105 million in the first year and USD 354 million in the second, adding up to USD 459 million. ↗

Who owns it?Southern Energy S.Aprob+

(CUIT 30-71858062-1) is a consortium of five: Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy and Golar LNG. The same five stand behind San Matías Pipeline S.A., owner of the pipeline that feeds the plant — which is not the same company, but its transport supplier. ↗

What does it leave in Río Negro, and what does a supplier pay?Whether it pays to sell to it in the construction stage or in the operating stage is decided by a limit on the tax exemption thesisverif+

The Acta Acuerdo ratified by Ley 5849 sets a one-off community contribution, USD 36 million between the two companies, plus a variable annual one tied to the LNG FOB index, of up to USD 20 million a year adjustable for US inflation, on top of the coastal fee, water royalties and two oversight fees. Turnover tax and stamp duty are exempt for both companies. The turnover tax exemption also reaches their direct suppliers, but only for their part in the works needed to install and start up the project: outside those works, it does not cover them. verif ↗

How many jobs does it create?The consortium declares 1,900 direct and indirect jobs during construction, «principalmente de origen local»prob+

prob The page that gives that figure describes the vessels project: the interconnection, the compressor stations, the onshore pipeline, the subsea lines and the moorings. That is why we read it as a figure for that project and not for the San Matías Pipeline, which belongs to another company and has its own figure. thesis That page does not publish the permanent operating headcount or the breakdown by trade or locality. ↗

Is construction under way?Yesprob+

Until August 2026 everything published described the works in the future tense. The first finished works of this project are the fifteen-kilometer link from the San Martín pipeline, which the August 2026 coverage reports as finished. The pipes that arrived at the port of San Antonio Este belong to the dedicated pipeline, which is the work of another company, San Matías Pipeline. The Hilli Episeyo left Cameroon for a shipyard in Singapore, where the new mooring system is being fitted, and its commercial operation is committed for the second half of 2027; the second vessel arrives in 2028. ↗

Ignacio Aredez
Analysis and curation: Ignacio Aredez
Head of Despegue
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How to read the seals →
  verif primary source · prob primary source pending · unconf a source said it · estim our own calculation · thesis our reading · the date belongs to the datum, at the precision its source allows
This is not financial advice. The page is built on the act that approved the project and the source of every figure, with the gaps declared. What the company announces is published as an announcement, and what is our own reading is labeled as thesis. ← Back to Río Negro