Argentine Fuel Oil Use To Hit 1.5M Tons,Up 36% YOY-Source
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BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--Argentine energy planners expect that power generators will use 1.5 million metric tons of fuel oil this year, up 36% from 1.1 million metric tons in 2005, an industry official said Friday.
The increase will help energy planners meet rising demand amid ebbing supply of natural gas.
Meanwhile, water levels at the Yacyreta hydroelectric plant are expected to rise two meters to 78 meters above sea level this month, the industry official added. The official, who is familiar with the administration of the national power grid, spoke on the condition that he not be named.
The long-awaited Yacyreta water level increase will add 400 megawatts of installed capacity to the national power grid, the official said. The bi-national Yacyreta project spans the Parana River on the Paraguayan border.
Argentine energy demand has jumped as the nation recovers from its 2001-2002 financial crisis. The government stepped up fuel oil purchases in 2004, buying 828,000 metric tons, after gas shortages caused a mild energy crisis two years ago. Natural gas producers have been slow to invest in exploration due to a four-year-old utility rates freeze that remains partially in place.
Despite the extra fuel oil and added Yacyreta electricity output, the national power system is stretched thin and could have problems if an emergency - such as a generator outage - were to occur this winter, the industry official said.
Beyond 2006, Argentina's current infrastructure cannot support the storage and movement of more than 1.5 million tons of fuel oil per year.
-By Drew Benson, Dow Jones Newswires; 5411-4311-3127;
andrew.benson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2006 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 45 PM EDT 04-21-06 |
