US Ex-Im plans up to $7 billion for Argentine minerals and energy projects

The US Export-Import Bank plans to fund up to $7 billion of critical minerals and energy projects in Argentina, according to a document seen by Reuters, with companies operating in the country able to borrow over the next two years to buy equipment from American manufacturers, among other uses. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters the package would be announced in New York on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The money is export credit, not aid. Argentine outlets described a menu of loans, guarantees and insurance from Ex-Im and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), meant to draw in private banks and investors. La Nación, citing several people with direct knowledge of the talks, described the $7 billion as covering 2027 alone rather than Reuters' two-year window. It also reported that negotiations were still under way on Tuesday, with some details unresolved.

The likely first test is Argentina LNG, the Vaca Muerta gas export project led by YPF with Italy's Eni and XRG, the international investment arm of the Emirati company Adnoc. La Nación reported that YPF is seeking about $6 billion leveraged in part by Ex-Im, and Ámbito and Diario de Cuyo put a similar figure on the package.

The partners' application under RIGI, Argentina's incentive regime for large investments, cites about $51 billion over the project's life. According to La Nación, about $29 billion of that would be spent before 2031, when the first floating liquefaction units are due to start operating. The design moves gas from Neuquén province to the Río Negro coast, where two floating units in the San Matías Gulf would have a combined capacity of 12 million tonnes a year. Diario de Cuyo reported that capacity could be expanded to 18 million tonnes. YPF holds 36% of the project and Eni and XRG 32% each.

The US money would only be one piece of the build. YPF, Eni and XRG are separately negotiating a loan of $14 billion to $16 billion for the pipelines, processing and fractionation plants, port facilities and the two liquefaction vessels, La Nación reported. JP Morgan and Santander are advising, and the talks include export credit agencies from other countries, among them Italy. YPF chief executive Horacio Marín said on Sept. 18 that the company was deep in talks with export credit agencies in Europe, Asia and the United States, according to The Rio Times.

La Nación reported that Ex-Im's participation could make it easier to contract American equipment, technology and services. It added that the final financing mix will depend on the tenders that award the main equipment and construction contracts. In that account, the US share is not fixed in advance. It would follow whichever suppliers win the work. The partners aim to take a final investment decision before year-end, and Diario de Cuyo reported YPF is targeting November.

The texts may also carry conditions on who can bid. La Nación reported the documents could refer to "trusted" technology and suppliers, a formula Washington uses to limit the role of companies linked to countries it considers adversaries, especially China. In February, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said the critical minerals understanding with the United States did not automatically exclude other countries from investing in those sectors, Diario de Cuyo reported.

Mining is the other half of the envelope. Rio Tinto extracts lithium in Argentina, BHP is developing a copper project and Chevron runs a large shale oil and gas project, Reuters noted. Mining minister Luis Lucero told Reuters earlier this year that Argentina could be exporting 580,000 metric tons of lithium and 1,641,000 metric tons of copper a year by 2036, five times 2025 levels. Those figures are a government projection, not a commitment.

The political frame is less settled than the announcement suggests. The financing sits within a reciprocal trade and investment agreement signed in February, which Argentina's Congress has not ratified. La Nación cited Bloomberg reporting on Tuesday that Argentine officials had told the Trump administration they do not have the votes to ratify it and want to revisit some terms; La Nación said Washington had rejected reopening the deal. Milei's government faces a presidential election in 2027, the same year La Nación says the $7 billion is meant to cover.