San Matias Gulf: the law that opened the coast to the export corridor

Art. 15 rewrites art. 1 of Ley M 3308 and leaves only oil and gas «prospecting, exploration and exploitation» prohibited in the San Matías Gulf and Río Negro's territorial sea. Pipeline transport, storage and loading/unloading terminals are regulated by the law itself: prior approval from the provincial authority, oversight by the Hydrocarbons Secretariat and the goal of encouraging Río Negro local procurement. Without this law there would be no VMOS terminal at Punta Colorada, no LNG liquefaction vessels and no San Matías pipeline thesis. verif · Sep 9, 2022 ↗

In force since October 2022 verif. Challenged in court without success so far: the provincial Superior Court (STJ) rejected the unconstitutionality action on May 10, 2023 for lack of standing, without ruling on the merits prob. prob · May 10, 2023 ↗

Anyone who applies for or holds a hydrocarbon transport concession, national or provincial, or an authorization to build, operate or use a transport system starting, ending or running in Río Negro (art. 4): it imposes prior provincial approval on them (art. 5) and provincial oversight concurrent with the national one (art. 2). In practice, the entire export corridor: VMOS (terminal and single-point moorings), Southern Energy (liquefaction vessels and dedicated pipeline), Argentina LNG and the San Antonio port logistics chain thesis. verif · 2022-2026 ↗