Argentina: 2004 gas crisis

In: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:8767d572-17f0-4876-809e-92ce6f63ae94

Abstract

Argentina has a fully privatised gas sector, with powerful gas producers and a well-developed network infrastructure. However, serious gas shortages and power cuts, brought on by a significant increase in demand, hit the country in early 2004. In order to understand how a country such as Argentina, which is normally a net exporter of gas, with huge proven and probable reserves and a well-functioning privatised gas industry, is now facing gas shortages, it is necessary to look back to the early 1990s. This paper analyses the origins of the 2004 energy crisis, examines the effects on the national gas industry and evaluates the government's solutions to prevent further shortage and restore the attractiveness of the gas industry for foreign and domestic investors. The impacts of the Argentine crisis on surrounding countries and on the regional energy integration are considered in a final appendix.