Argentina’s YPF, Dow team up for natural gas project

Buenos Aires, Dec 15 (EFE). —  The government of Argentina announced Tuesday an agreement between staterun oil company YPF and Dow Chemical to spend $500 million next year developing a natural gas project in the Patagonia region.

President Mauricio Macri presented the plan for the next phase in the exploitation of the El Orejano gas field, part of the Vaca Muerta shale formation in the southern province of Neuquen.

The aim is to triple gas production by the end of 2016 to 2 million cubic meters a day, a statement from Macri’s office said.

Dow and YPF launched the El Orejano project in 2013 and have already invested $350 million.

Macri highlighted the importance of “joint efforts between an Argentine firm such as YPF and a multinational as respected as Dow,” and emphasized that gas production aid job creation and economic development in Argentina.