Santa Cruz maintains its potential to become a relevant energy player in the hand of unconventional development and renewable energy. The facts of the second part of 2024 go in that direction.
The transfer of Koluel Kaike areas – El Valle y Stone Clavada, from Pan American Energy (PAE) to Crown Point involved an investment of USD 41.5 million until 2026 in oil and gas production. As long as 10 additional wells are envisaged, which would mean another USD 90.8 million in investments.
Pan American Energy, for its part, reaffirms its commitment to operations at Cerro Dragon and is moving forward in exploration of the neighbouring area Meseta Cerón Chico, in northern Santa Cruz. By 2025, the company could implement an ambitious work plan that includes up to 35 producing wells and injectors.
The panorama is completed with the advance in the extensions of the El Valle areas, concessionated to Alpa S.A., and Anticlinal Aguada Flaguada, belonging to Quintana E & P. Claves for the development of marginal areas within the Gulf Basin San George, ensuring operational continuity and attraction for future investments.
Palermo Aike
On non-conventional development, the first results of the Palermo Aike training are encouraging. The expectation is to achieve sustainable hydrocarbon production, for which the challenge will be to reduce operational costs as production increases, facilitating positive profitability.
In 2024 the fractures in Cañado Deus, within the El Cerrito Concession, were relevant in the shale. It was carried out in collaboration between YPF and CGC, with an investment of around USD 60 million.
At the same time, on the end of the year, YPF announced the start of unconventional exploration in the areas La Azucena and El Camp East, also on the Palermo Aike formation. More than 1,000 square kilometres will be explored with 3D seismic. While the official results of Maypa X-1, which would be published imminently, are expected to be encouraged to further investments in the region.
Green hydrogen
At the end of last year, Santa Cruz was selected to carry out the first public-private green hydrogen project in Argentina, called “Gaucho Wind to Hydrogen & Green Ammonia”. This project, led by Austrian company RP Global, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the provincial government, seeks to produce hydrogen and green ammonia through European investments.
The initiative will be developed in two stages, starting in 2025, near the ports of Puerto Deseado and Punta Quilla, with a final objective of generating 8,777 MW of wind power and 6,236 MW through electrolizers. Production is estimated to be 0.62 Mton/year of green hydrogen and 3.51 Mton/year of green ammonia.
It would enable the export of green ammonia to European markets, especially Germany, and locally to reduce carbon intensity in sectors such as steel and petrochemistry. But it will also position Santa Cruz as a relevant player in renewable energy development.
The initiative will be developed in two stages, starting in 2025, near the ports of Puerto Deseado and Punta Quilla, with a final objective of generating 8,777 MW of wind power and 6,236 MW through electrolizers. Production is estimated to be 0.62 Mton/year of green hydrogen and 3.51 Mton/year of green ammonia.
It would enable the export of green ammonia to European markets, especially Germany, and locally to reduce carbon intensity in sectors such as steel and petrochemistry. But it will also position Santa Cruz as a relevant player in renewable energy development.
The province of Santa Cruz benefits from extensive wind resources across nearly its entire area. If wind generators were installed using just 5% of its surface, it could yield 80 GW of power, which is twice the total installed capacity currently in the entire country.
Currently, there are three operational wind farms in the province:
Santa Cruz will have the first public-private project of green hydrogen in Argentina.
This is the project called “Gaucho Wind to Hydrogen & Green Ammonia”, which will be developed by the provincial government and European Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammernarbeit (GIZ) and GP Global for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia.
It will be installed near the ports of Puerto Deseado and Punta Quilla and will be distributed in two stages, with the aim of generating 8,777 MW of wind power, 6,236 MW of energy through electrolizers, allowing the production of 0.62 Mto/year of green hydrogen, and 3.51 Mto/year of green ammonia.
From the public-private partnership they announced that, with the proximity to the Santa-Rucean ports, it is “opening the possibility for vessels to transport green ammonia to other continents, and use it as fuel and raw materials for the chemical industry”, while stressing that “most green ammonia will be exported to European countries, and to Germany in particular”.
They also advanced that “potential buyers are industrial companies with objectives to reduce, to a large extent, the carbon intensity of their production processes, either by consuming ammonia as a raw material, or using green hydrogen as an energy vector”.
They also reported that “part of the production of the plant will be used to the domestic market, to support the decarbonization of the steel, petrochemical and refining sectors”; as well as that this public-private partnership scheme “provides for the implementation of comprehensive studies for the production and export of green hydrogen and ammonia on a large scale in Argentina”.
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