MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

YPF granted loan to boost clean energy developments

The funds must be allocated to eligible projects from the “Environmental, Social and Governance” (ESG) perspective

Argentina's state-run oil company YPF has been granted a US $ 300 million loans, which “shows the confidence of the markets in the results obtained by the company in 2021,” it was announced.

After having concluded its debt swap in February 2021, YPF and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) Thursday signed a 3-year international financial loan for 300 million dollars, which represents the return of the Argentine company to the international financial market.

“This international financing demonstrates the confidence of the markets in the results obtained by the company in 2021,” a YPF statement said as it foresaw it would close the year with investments worth around US $ 2,700 million. It has also managed to brings down its indebtendness to 2015 levels.

YPF also said in its report regarding the results for the third quarter of 2021 that the total production of hydrocarbons showed a growth of 17% since the last quarter of 2020. The company also underscored the 73% growth in output of unconventional crude oil in 2021 and 83% in unconventional gas.

Conventional operations have also reversed a negative trend, YPF reported, with results such as the ones from the Manantiales Behr field, which achieved production “levels never seen before in its 100 years of activity.”

Almost 30% of Argentina's electricity demand is covered with renewable energy generated by YPF Luz. In addition, this company is the second largest generator of renewables in the country, and leads the Renewable Term Market (MATER) with three wind farms with an installed capacity of over 400 MW.

The company has also advanced in the research and development of other energies such as lithium and hydrogen through the creation of YPF Litio S.A. and of the Consortium for the Development of the Hydrogen Economy (H2ar) led by Y-TEC.

The new loan also involves Santander, The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, Dubai (DIFC), Itaú Unibanco and Cargill Financial Services International and the funds must be allocated to eligible projects from the “Environmental, Social and Governance” (ESG) perspective to seek a smooth transition towards a company more sustainable and committed to the environment.

YPF has had a relationship with CAF for more than 10 years. CAF is one of the main sources of multilateral financing in the area of infrastructure in Latin America. It has been operating in the region for more than 50 years and is made up of 19 shareholder countries and 14 private banks in the region.