Argentina's state energy company Enarsa received bids Wednesday from Britain's BP and Italy's ENI in a tender for the delivery of a 138,000 cubic meter cargo of liquefied natural gas, an industry source said.
Enarsa, which handles the country's LNG imports, plans to award the contract Friday, the source said on the condition of not being named.
He said BP is the frontrunner for the contract given that its offer price was lower, at less than $12/MMBtu.
BP and ENI were the only two companies to bid in the tender out of six invitees, the source added.
The cargo is to be delivered September 26 to a floating regasification terminal in Bahia Blanca, a port to the south of Buenos Aires province with a connection to the national grid, the source said. The country has a second terminal in Escobar near Buenos Aires.
Argentina has been ramping up energy imports to meet domestic demand in the face of dwindling oil and gas production.
The country had planned to import 80 cargoes this year, up from 55 in 2011. But in August it scaled back the plans to between 54 and 56 cargoes as warmer temperatures during the May to September cold season reduced energy demand and more gas started flowing in from neighboring Bolivia.
The reduction in the LNG plans also is part of an effort to trim spending on foreign energy supplies, which surged 110% to $9.4 billion in 2011 on the year.
In July, the government said the country will save $227 million between August and the end of 2013 by stepping up Bolivian gas purchases, which cost about $10/MMBtu compared with $16/MMBtu for LNG at that time.
Other LNG suppliers this year include Spain's Gas Natural, Japan's Marubeni and US companies Morgan Stanley and Excelerate Energy.
