Economy & Business - December 2020

ARGENTINA | Government launches gas production plan. On 16 November, the Argentine government launched the so-called ‘Plan Gas.Ar’, a four-year programme aimed at increasing domestic gas production. According to the government, the aim is to produce 30bn cubic metres of natural gas over the next four years; producing this gas domestically rather than importing it would represent real savings of US$9.3bn, as well as fiscal savings of US$2.5bn. The energy secretary, Darío Martínez, described the launch of the plan as the start of a phase of import substitution allowing for foreign currency savings, reductions in public spending, and higher royalties for the country’s provinces.