JPMorgan and Santander Lead Argentina LNG Fundraising Effort

JPMorgan and Santander are leading a massive fundraising effort to support Argentina's LNG project, aiming to raise $15 billion according to Bloomberg sources. The project, which includes building two floating liquefaction trains and cross-country pipelines, has an estimated total price tag of $24 billion.

The Argentina LNG project is a partnership between Italy's Eni, Argentinian state energy major YPF, and Emirati XRG. It will be built on the country's Atlantic coast and have an annual production capacity of 12 million tons of liquefied gas, potentially ramping up to 18 million tons.

The project is set to source its gas from the Vaca Muerta shale play, which has the world's second-largest technically recoverable shale gas resources after the U.S. Marcellus. Argentina as a whole has the potential to eventually produce 24 million tons of liquefied gas annually.