Argentine government signs deal to switch heavy fleets to natural gas
The Ministry of Transportation oand the National Gas Regulatory Entity (Enargas), headed by Alexis Guerrera and Federico Bernal respectively, signed a cooperation agreement, as established by Law No. 24,076, which fundamentally aims to promote the transformation to natural gas of cargo and passengers transportation.
“It is essential for us to work in a coordinated manner with Enargas and the Argentine Chamber of CNG to guarantee, on the one hand, the supply of CNG to the existing vehicle fleet and, on the other, to be able to deploy this alternative fuel in passenger and cargo transportation,” said Minister Guerrera. “This is an intermediate step in the transformation of the energy matrix of transport, with which we are moving towards more sustainable mobility that will allow us to meet our international climate commitments and ensure a better quality of life for current and future generations.”
For his part, Bernal commented: “With Minister Guerrera we agree and share as a strategic vision the neuralgic importance of gas in all its modalities, and a country without a competitive and reliable transportation system, even more so one the size of ours, will remain eternally postponed. Argentina has Vaca Muerta, the second shale gas reserve in the world and within the framework of our respective powers, we propose, with the minister, a coordinated and efficient work to make natural gas the key transition energy source of the national transportation system.”
It should be noted that Enargas is projecting “green corridors” for the refueling of truck and bus fleets powered by CNG, and that it also issued the “Procedure for the authorization of imported vehicles, propelled by natural gas” and the “authorization of vehicles produced in national territory, propelled by natural gas”.
The energy transition project for public passenger transport has as fundamental objectives the reduction of the domestic preponderance of internal combustion engines based on hydrocarbons (fossil fuels) to go towards electric engines, as well as reducing in the transition, the consumption of most common and polluting hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel) through the development and promotion of integrated policies and plans to promote inclusion, efficient use of resources, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
That is why the Ministry of Transport of the Nation contacted Enargas and the Argentine Chamber of CNG, who assure that the supply and technological conditions are in place to cover an initial demand for CNG provision for public passenger transport.
