On 3 August 2021, Resolution No. 742/2021 (“Resolution”) was published, whereby the Secretary of Energy (“Secretary”) issued new measures to be applied in favor of the successful bidders of the “RenovAr Program” (“Program”) projects delayed in obtaining commercial authorization or failing to provide the committed energy supply.

These measures, subject to certain requirements, involve the following incentives: (i) reduction of penalties; and (ii) extension of deadline to achieve commercial authorization.

By National Law No. 27,640, published on 4 August 2021, the National Congress approved the new regulatory framework for biofuels that will be valid in Argentina from 5 August 2021 until at least 31 December 2030 (“Law”). The Law establishes, among others, new mandatory percentages of biofuels to be included in blends with fossil fuels reducing from 10% to 5% the prior percentage for biodiesel, granting more discretion to the enforcement authority, and establishing tax exemptions while repealing previous tax benefits.

Through Resolution No. 706/2021, published on July 27 2021 and in effect as from that day, the Secretary of Energy created the “Liquefied Natural Gas Operators Registry” within the scope of the Undersecretariat of Hydrocarbons, dependent on the Secretary and the Ministry of Economy. The Resolution also regulated the requirements for granting LNG export permits for up to 20 years.

By means of National Decree No. 427/2021 (“Decree”), published on 1 July 2021, the National Executive Power granted the General Ports Administration (AGP), a State Company, the concession for the maintenance of a signaling system, dredging and re-draining tasks, and hydrological control of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway (“Waterway”) for a period of 12 months, or until it is awarded by another entity through an international bidding proceeding.

On 8 March 2021, through Resolutions Nos. 50 and 51 (“Resolutions”) from the Nation’s Mining Secretary, more than 100 exploration companies and 33 mining services companies  –  indicated in Annex I of each of the Resolutions  –  have been preventively discharged from the Mining Investments Registry of Law No. 24,196. The preventive discharged was for one year. The  companies that have been preventively discharged will be able to request reinstatement to the Mining Investment Registry in accordance with Section 4 of Resolution No. 118/2020, only if is not definitive.

As the energy, mining and infrastructure industry in Latin America looks ahead to the new year, we present the Latin America EMI Hot Topics Guides for 2021 to facilitate discussions about the key trends we see in each sector. We invite you to read the guides to learn more about…