Argentina's Economy minister Sergio Massa said on Thursday that the government was readying a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bill to send to Congress in the coming months, amid a push to create a major gas export sector in the country, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The bill aims to spur the multi-billion-dollar investments needed to exploit Argentina's massive LNG reserves.
Companies like state-owned YPF have shown interest in building plants to liquify gas from Argentina's vast Vaca Muerta shale basin, the world's second largest unconventional gas reserve and the fourth largest shale oil reserve.
Massa told business leaders that he hoped Congress would discuss the LNG bill in coming extended or extraordinary sessions, and that the government would also announce a series of decrees to accompany the bill.
Amid a prolonged financial crisis and a series of market regulations imposed by the center-left government, companies have asked the government to provide certainty that LNG export commitments will be honored once the expensive LNG plants are built.
They have also requested tax and exchange benefits.