Horacio Marin, CEO of Argentinian energy company YPF, said on Tuesday that offtake contracts for the Argentina LNG project it is building with the UAE's XRG and Italy's Eni were in the process of being signed in Europe and Asia.
Marin said construction of the planned 12 million tonnes a year project could start in February, with a final investment decision planned for this month. YPF and its partners originally signed a binding joint development agreement in February this year.
Marin said he expects the first vessel to sail as early as 2030, with the second six to 12 months later.
The project is geared towards transforming the Vaca Muerta basin's natural gas resources into LNG exports using two floating liquefaction units.
Marin said he expects construction of a one million barrel per day oil export pipeline to finish this year.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in Abu Dhabi, writing by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)