By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-09-27 09:36:36 | Updated at 2026-09-27 10:12:00
59 minutes ago
ARGENTINA · ENERGY AND MINERALS
Key Facts
- —The country Argentina has about 46 million people and South America’s second-largest economy, roughly Sweden’s size. It holds the Vaca Muerta shale field and a large share of the world’s lithium brines.
- —Why it matters Its oil, gas, lithium and copper sit far inland, in the west and northwest. Old railways, weak power lines and too few pipelines make getting them to the sea slow and costly.
- —Why now Washington wants secure supplies of critical minerals and energy. President Javier Milei’s government is courting US money and aligning closely with the Trump administration.
- —What happened On Wednesday 23 September in New York, the two governments launched the Andes-Atlantic Corridor, with up to US$7 billion in US export credit available through 2027.
- —The numbers About US$6 billion of the ceiling is a non-binding offer for one gas-export project, Argentina LNG, whose total cost is put at US$51 billion over its life.
- —What it means for you For investors, it signals US backing for energy and mining deals. It is not cash in hand, and most of it depends on projects that are not yet approved.
- —Still open The final investment decision on Argentina LNG, bids for three freight railways due 11 November, and which mining projects, if any, will draw US financing.
The US and Argentina have launched the Andes-Atlantic Corridor, a plan to link inland oil, gas and mineral fields to the sea. It comes with a headline figure of up to US$7 billion in US financing through 2027.
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That figure is a ceiling, not a transfer. Most of it is one indicative credit line for a gas-export project its owners have not yet approved.
What was signed in New York
Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, and the US deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, presented the plan on Wednesday 23 September. They met at the Argentine consulate in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
They signed on behalf of Presidents Javier Milei and Donald Trump. Their joint statement says the corridor will modernise the links between Argentina’s main industries and Atlantic ports.
The corridor sits under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. That is a Group of Seven (G7) scheme for infrastructure in partner countries.
This is the first such corridor in the Western Hemisphere.
The others include the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, the Lobito Corridor in southern Africa and the Luzon Economic Corridor in the Philippines. The G7 launched the partnership in 2022, and it is widely seen as a counter to China’s overseas infrastructure lending.
Where the US$7 billion comes from
The money is not a fund or a single loan. It rests on a “Build the Future Framework” Argentina signed with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), Washington’s export-credit agency.
EXIM lends to foreign buyers so they can purchase American goods and services. Under the framework it may finance up to US$7 billion of qualifying projects through 2027.
Two other agencies are named as possible backers. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) lends and invests abroad; the US Trade and Development Agency funds feasibility studies.
Quirno told Infobae that EXIM “finances American suppliers” working on Argentine projects. The country itself, he said, “does not need financing as a country.”
One gas project takes most of it
About US$6 billion of the total is earmarked for Argentina LNG. The project would chill gas from Vaca Muerta into liquid for export by ship.
It is led by the state-controlled oil company YPF with Italy’s Eni and XRG, an investment arm of the United Arab Emirates. Its lifetime cost is put at US$51 billion, which Infobae calls Argentina’s largest announced investment.
EXIM has issued a non-binding indicative term sheet for that US$6 billion, according to the trade publication BNamericas. In plain terms, it is a written offer of terms, not a signed loan.
The money would pay for US equipment and contractors. McDermott holds a contract for a gas-processing plant, and Pumpco, part of MasTec, has a pipeline contract that BNamericas values at more than US$1 billion.
YPF expects to take its final investment decision in the last quarter of 2026, BNamericas reports. The design calls for two floating liquefaction vessels off Río Negro province, able to export 12 million tonnes a year.
Railways, rivers and a port on the Atlantic
The transport side of the Andes-Atlantic Corridor leans on concessions Argentina had already begun. In August the government put three freight lines out to tender for 50 years: the Belgrano, San Martín and Urquiza railways.
Together they cover 7,594 kilometres of track. Bids are due on Wednesday 11 November, according to BNamericas, and US firms may compete as bidders or subcontractors.
Argentina is also studying new rail links from Vaca Muerta to Bahía Blanca, a deep-water port in southern Buenos Aires province. No amounts have been given for them.
The statement also mentions the Paraná–Paraguay river waterway, known as the Hidrovía, whose 25-year concession went to a Belgian-Argentine group in June. A new high-voltage line for Buenos Aires, called AMBA I, is listed too.
Lithium and copper, but no named mines
The corridor is pitched as a way to move lithium and copper from the northwest provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca. Yet the joint statement names no mining project.
It says both sides will look for deals under the US–Argentina critical minerals framework signed in February. Argentina’s Congress has yet to ratify it, according to Mining.com.
BNamericas reports that a US delegation plans to visit Jujuy and Salta in October. That trip may show where the first mining deals come from.
Investors will also lean on RIGI, Argentina’s large-investment regime, launched in July 2024. It freezes tax, customs and currency rules for projects of at least US$200 million.
A digital strand covers fibre-optic networks, undersea cables and customs-scanning equipment. It ties back to the reciprocal trade agreement signed in February, which Washington has pressed Argentina to ratify in Congress.
What comes next
The first real test is Argentina LNG’s final investment decision, which YPF expects before the end of 2026. Only then could the EXIM offer turn into a signed loan.
The second is the rail tender on 11 November. It will show whether American firms actually bid, or leave the field to others such as Grupo México, which has shown interest.
What the launch does not mean is also clear. Washington has not handed Argentina US$7 billion, and the Andes-Atlantic Corridor creates no new fund and no immediate disbursement.
Some Argentine reports called the money already committed. Yet the official text only says the United States will “promote” financing tools.
The gas line also remains non-binding.
For the expat angle, see Investment-Grade Talk and a US$7 Billion Energy Package: What Argentina’s New York Week Means for Expats.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Andes-Atlantic Corridor?
A joint US–Argentine plan, launched on 23 September 2026, to modernise railways, pipelines, ports, power lines and digital networks. The goal is to move Argentine oil, gas, lithium and copper to Atlantic ports and Western markets.
Is the United States giving Argentina US$7 billion?
No. US$7 billion is the most the US Export-Import Bank may lend through 2027, mainly for American goods, and nothing has been disbursed.
Which project gets the most?
Argentina LNG, a gas-export project led by YPF with Eni and the UAE’s XRG. EXIM has offered up to US$6 billion in non-binding terms, pending the project’s final investment decision.
Does it include lithium mines?
Not yet, as the joint statement names no mining project. Both governments say they will seek deals under the critical minerals framework signed in February.
Sources: Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joint statement of 23 September 2026; US International Development Finance Corporation, statement on UN General Assembly week; BNamericas; Buenos Aires Times; Infobae; Clarín (EFE); Mining.com.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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