New Procedure for Exporting Liquid Hydrocarbons

1. Background and scope

Resolution 166/2026 of the Secretariat of Energy (SE) was published in the Official Gazette on July 22, 2026. The amendment to article 6 of the Federal Hydrocarbons Law 17319 implemented by Law 27742 (Bases Law) recognizes the right to freely export hydrocarbons, subject to the SE’s non-objection. The amendments introduced by the Bases Law to the Hydrocarbons Law were regulated through Decree 1057/2024, which delegated to the SE the issuance of the corresponding regulatory procedure.
 

Now, Pursuant to Decree 1057/2024, the SE issued Resolution 166/2026, which regulates the procedure applicable to exports of liquid hydrocarbons and their derivatives and creates the Export Transactions Registry. For more information on Decree 1057/2024, see our article “Bases Law: Amendments to the Hydrocarbons Law Now Regulated,” published on December 18, 2024.

The Resolution was also issued within the framework of article 35 of Law 26020 (LPG Law), as amended by Decree 446/2025, which established the principle of free export of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) once the domestic supply volume is guaranteed. The Resolution consolidates into a single procedure the regimes provided in the Hydrocarbons Law (with respect to the hydrocarbons and derivatives established in it) and in the LPG Law. Exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are not included in this procedure, as they are governed by Resolution 145/2026.

The Resolution provides for:
 

1. The creation of the Export Transactions Registry, in which export notices, objections, and free export certificates must be recorded.
2. The list of liquid hydrocarbons and derivatives whose export is subject to registration: crude petroleum oils, crude oils obtained from bituminous minerals, gasoline (other than aviation gasoline), gas oil (diesel), crude propane, propane (other), butane, and LPG (mixture). This is a list the SE may expand, modify, or narrow depending on domestic market supply conditions.
3. The approval, as an Annex, of the export procedure for liquid hydrocarbons and their derivatives.
4. The delegation to the Undersecretariat of Hydrocarbons (SSH) of the management of the Registry and of the functions of enforcement authority.
5. The repeal of Resolutions SE 241/2017 (which required exporters to demonstrate, before exporting, that the products had been offered to the domestic market), 175/2023 (which approved the procedure for exporting crude petroleum oils and crude oils obtained from bituminous minerals through cross-border pipelines), and 303/1994 (which required every hydrocarbon export and import transaction to be informed to the SE, information that is now held by ARCA). The Resolution also terminates the regime under article 1 of Decree 645/2002, which had created the Registry of Export Transaction Agreements.

Exports authorized and/or requested before the Resolution came into effect (i.e., under Resolutions SE 241/2017 and 175/2023) will continue to be governed by the terms and conditions in force at the time they were granted and/or filed. The Resolution came into effect on the day it was published in the Official Gazette.

The procedure approved as an Annex regulates the export notice and the process of obtaining the free export certificate. Its main aspects are described below.

2. Export notice and parties included

Those that produce, process, refine, commercialize, store, and/or fractionate the hydrocarbons established in the Resolution, and are duly registered under the applicable regulations, may notify an export. The notice must be filed with the SSH using the form approved as an Appendix to the procedure, which collects the technical and commercial data of the transaction (product, volume, price, term, export point, country of destination, and projected availability).

Notices covering periods exceeding 12 consecutive months will be considered long-term exports. These must also include the following documentation, depending on the product:
 

1. Crude petroleum oils, crude oils obtained from bituminous minerals, gasoline (other than aviation gasoline), and gas oil: the contracts and/or commercial agreements related to the notified export and the projected availability of own production (proven, possible, and/or probable reserves of each area of origin) and/or the contracts for firm quantities agreed with producers.
2. Crude propane, propane (other), butane, and LPG (mixture): the contracts and/or commercial agreements related to the export, including those entered into with producers when the applicant is not itself a producer, and information on the plant shutdowns scheduled during the export period.

The applicant must also state that it has secured transportation capacity for the notified volumes. When the export requires executing infrastructure projects, the applicant must prove the technical consistency of the project, its location, and its financing structure, unless that information has already been submitted as part of an application to adhere to the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI). In this case, proof that the adherence process has been initiated will be sufficient.

3. Grounds for objection

The enforcement authority may raise total or partial objections within these terms, according to the product to be exported:
 

1. within 30 administrative business days for crude petroleum oils, crude oils obtained from bituminous minerals, gasoline (other than aviation gasoline), and gas oil; and
2. within 7 administrative business days for crude propane, propane (other), butane, and LPG (mixture), in both cases counted as from the filing of the notice.

Objections may only be based on the grounds listed in the Resolution:
 

1. lack of availability of hydrocarbons and/or their derivatives to supply the domestic market;
2. failure to evidence the projected availability of own production, reserves, or firm quantities agreed with producers;
3. inaccuracy or lack of veracity of the information and/or supporting documentation of the transaction;
4. failure to evidence capacity at any of the stages comprising the export operation;
5. existence of anti-competitive practices, including “dumping” concerning the domestic market under the same conditions;
6. unforeseen and significant variations in domestic market prices;
7. lack of proportionality with respect to the reported projections and the security of supply to the domestic market.

4. Issuance of the Free Export Certificate

Within five days after the maximum terms have elapsed without objections, the enforcement authority will issue the free export certificate for the applicant to submit to the General Customs Directorate (DGA), which reports to the Argentine Tax Authority (ARCA), for the customs clearance of the product to be exported. If the authority fails to issue a decision within the established terms, its silence will be deemed an approval, and the applicant may request the issuance of the Certificate.

The Certificate will indicate the term for the starting and completion of the exports and, where applicable, the frequency of the evidencing obligations. Once the term of validity stated in the Certificate has elapsed, the Certificate will automatically expire, without any notice to its holder being required.

5. Export stability

The Resolution provides that the Certificate grants stability to the notified export, with the scope set forth in article 23 of Annex I to Decree 1057/2024. If the export requires executing infrastructure projects, the stability guarantee will be subject to the effective execution and commissioning of the associated project.

6. Obligations of the certificate holder

The Resolution establishes the following obligations for the Certificate holder:
 

1. Inform the enforcement authority of any substantial change to the information provided in the export notice that gave rise to its issuance.
2. Comply, where applicable, with the reporting regimes under SE Resolutions 319/1993 (which requires oil companies to periodically submit to the SE statistical and technical information on their activities, as a sworn statement) and 64/2026 (which approved a new information system for LPG operators).
3. Keep its registration status up to date in accordance with the applicable regulations.
4. In long-term exports whose term exceeds 60 consecutive months, evidence every three years, counted from the start of the export, the right to dispose of the committed volumes, by means of reserves, prospective resources, production capacity, supply agreements with producers, processing agreements, commercial agreements, or other equivalent documentation.

7. Revocation of the certificate

The Resolution establishes the following grounds for revoking the Certificate:
 

1. breach to comply with the holder’s obligations described in the preceding section,
2. inaccuracy and/or falsity of the information declared,
3. breach to comply with the reporting and registration obligations set forth in the applicable regulations,
4. material and significant breach of the terms and conditions of the Certificate.

Before a decision on the revocation is made, which will be in charge of the SE, the SSH will send a notice to the holder to cure the breaches or file its defense within ten administrative business days.

8. Assignment of the certificate
 

The Certificate holder may assign it as a whole or in part, with the prior consent of the enforcement authority. The Resolution specifies that, for this purpose, the assignment agreement must be submitted duly certified and legalized, and that the conditions, requirements, and terms set forth in the procedure will apply to the assignee.