"We did not need (external financing) last year. We actually reduced our debt," Chairman Pablo Gonzalez said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference. "In a first round (of financing) in Argentina, we already secured $300 million" for investment.
The money is expected to fund about 20% of a $5 billion investment plan for this year, primarily focused on boosting oil and gas output at Vaca Muerta, he added. YPF's production goal for this year is 550,000-560,000 barrels per day of oil and gas, an increase of about 10% from last year's average.
Another priority for the company in 2023 is to progress on a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) production project with Malaysia's state-owned Petronas and a pipeline to transport the fuel, as demand for gas spikes globally. A series of technical meetings with Petronas are planned for Feb. 22 in Argentina to discuss the legal terms of the joint LNG project, another step towards a final contract following a preliminary agreement in September, Gonzalez added.
The YPF-Petronas project calls for an initial investment of
around $10 billion, which the companies said would allow output
of 5 million tonnes of LNG during the first year of operation,
but they did not specify when the plant is expected to come
online.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Shariq Khan; Editing by Sharon
Singleton)
