On October 29, 2014, the National Congress enacted Law No. 27,007 amending Hydrocarbons Law No. 17,319, which considers new drilling techniques in the industry, and also introduces changes mainly related to terms and extensions of exploration permits and exploitation concessions, levies and royalty rates, the incorporation of concepts for the continental shelf and off-shore exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons, and a promotion regime pursuant to Executive Order No. 929/13, among other factors. The main changes introduced by Law No. 27,007 are detailed below:
Unconventional Hydrocarbons Exploitation
The Law conferred a legal status to the concept of ‘Hydrocarbon Unconventional Exploitation Concession’ created by Executive Order No. 929/13. The term hydrocarbon unconventional exploitation is defined as the extraction of liquid and/or gaseous hydrocarbons by unconventional stimulation techniques applied in reservoirs situated in geological formations of schist rock or slate (shale gas or shale oil), tight sandstone (tight sands, tight gas, tight oil), coal bed methane and/or deposits characterized, in general, by the presence of low permeability rocks.
Holders of exploration permits and/or hydrocarbon exploitation concessions will be entitled to request a hydrocarbon unconventional exploitation concession to the enforcement authority pursuant to the following terms:
Terms for Exploitation Concessions and Permits
The terms for the exploration permits will be established in each tender issued by the enforcement authority according to the exploration’s purpose (conventional or unconventional):
i. Conventional exploration: the basic term is divided into two periods of up to three years each, plus an optional extension of up to five years. In this way, the maximum extension for exploration permits is reduced from fourteen to eleven years;
ii. Unconventional exploration: the basic term is divided into two periods of four years each, plus an optional extension of up to five years, that is, up to a maximum of 13 years; and
iii. Exploration in the continental shelf and the territorial sea: the basic term is divided into two periods of three years each, plus an optional extension of one year each.
Upon the expiration of the basic term’s first period, the exploration permit holder will decide whether to continue exploring the block or to transfer it back in whole to the Government. The whole originally granted block may be kept provided the obligations arising from the permit have been properly met. Upon the expiration of the basic term, the holder of the exploration permit will revert the whole block, unless it exercises its right to extension the period, in which case the reversion will be limited to 50% of the remaining block.
Exploitation concessions will be granted for the following terms, which will be computed as from the granting resolution’s date:
i. Conventional exploitation concession: 25 years;
ii. Unconventional exploitation concession: 35 years; and
iii. Continental shelf and offshore exploitation concession: 30 years.
Furthermore, the holder of an exploitation concession may, with a minimum one-year notice before the expiration of the concession, request the granting of indefinite extensions, for a 10-year term each, provided it has properly met its obligations as exploitation concessionaire, is actually producing hydrocarbons in the blocks in question, and files an investment plan consistent with the development of the concession.
The ban on simultaneously holding more than five exploration permits and/or exploitation concessions (whether directly or indirectly) has been lifted.
Concessions Extension
Law No. 27,007 grants the provinces having already started the concession extension process a 90-day term to finish it based on the conditions established for each of them. All subsequent extensions will be governed by the Argentine Hydrocarbons Law.
Awarding of Blocks
Law No. 27,007 proposes the drafting of a standard bid form that will be jointly made by the former Secretariat of Energy (SE) and the provincial authorities, to which all calls for tenders launched by law enforcement authorities should adjust, and introduces a specific criterion for the awarding of permits and concessions by incorporating the specific parameter of ‘greater investment or exploration activity’ as tie-breaker, at the National Executive Branch (PEN or Poder Ejecutivo Nacional) or the Provincial Executive Branch’s duly supported discretion, as applicable.
Levy and Royalties
The amended Argentine Hydrocarbons Law updated the values related to the exploration and exploitation levy established by Executive Order No. 1,454/07; such values may, in turn, be generally updated by the PEN based on variations in the domestic market’s crude oil price. The updated values for each levy and royalty are detailed below.
Exploration Levy
The holder of the exploration permit will pay the levy on an annual basis, in advance, for each square kilometer (km2) or its fraction based on the following scale:
In this case, offsetting mechanisms remain in place: the amount that the exploration permit holder should pay for the second period of the basic term and for the extension period may be readjusted by offsetting it with exploration investments actually made within the block, until reaching a minimum levy equivalent to 10% of the applicable levy according to the period per km2, which will be payable in all cases.
Exploitation Levy
The holder of the exploitation permit will pay a levy which will consist of an annual advance payment of AR$4,500 per km2 or its fraction.
Royalties
Royalties are defined as the only revenue the jurisdictions holding title to the hydrocarbons will collect, in their capacity as grantors, from the production of hydrocarbons.
The percentage the exploitation concessionaire should pay on a monthly basis to the grantor as royalty remains at 12% of the proceeds derived from liquid hydrocarbons production extracted at wellhead. The production of natural gas will bear a like percentage of the value of extracted and actually used volumes and will be payable on a monthly basis.
Cash payment of the royalty will be made based on the value of crude oil at wellhead less freight costs up to the base location for the definition of its commercial value. Payment in kind of this royalty will only apply when the concessionaire is assured a reasonably permanent reception. The possibility to reduce the royalty up to 5% taking into consideration productivity, conditions and wells location remains in place.
In case of extension, additional royalties for up to 3% of the royalties applicable upon the first extension and up to a total maximum of 18% of royalties for the following extensions will be payable.
For the conduction of hydrocarbon conventional exploitation complementary activities, as from the expiration of the granted concession and within the hydrocarbons unconventional exploitation concession, the enforcement authority may fix additional royalties of up to 3% above the current royalties, up to a maximum 18%, as applicable.
The PEN or the Provincial Executive Branch, as applicable, acting in its capacity as granting authority, may reduce by up to 25% the amount corresponding to royalties applicable to the production of hydrocarbons during a term of 10 years after the conclusion of the pilot project in favor of companies requesting a hydrocarbon unconventional exploitation concession within a term of 36 months as from Law No. 27,007’s effective date.
Finally, with the Hydrocarbon Investments Committee’s prior approval, royalties may be reduced to 50% for tertiary production projects, extra-heavy oil and offshore products in view of their productivity, location and other unfavorable economic and technical characteristics.
Extension Bond
For exploitation concession extensions, Law No. 27,007 empowers the enforcement authority to establish the payment of an extension bond, the maximum amount of which will result from multiplying the remaining proven reserves at the expiration of the concession by 2% of the average basin price applicable to the specific hydrocarbon during a term of 2 years before the granting of the extension.
Exploitation Bond
The enforcement authority may establish the payment of an exploitation bond, the maximum amount of which will result from multiplying the remaining proven reserves associated with the exploitation of conventional hydrocarbons at the expiration of the granted concession by 2% of the average basin price applicable to the specific hydrocarbons for the two years prior to the granting of the hydrocarbon unconventional exploitation concession.
Transportation Concessions
Transportation concessions (which had so far been granted for 35 years) will be granted for the same term than that granted for the originating exploitation concession, with the possibility of receiving subsequent extensions for up to 10 years each. Thus, transportation concessions originating in a conventional exploitation concession will have a basic 25-year term, whereas those originating in an unconventional exploitation concession will have a basic 35-year term, each plus any granted extension term. After the expiration of these terms, title to the facilities will be transferred back to the Federal or Provincial Government, as applicable, by operation of law and without any charges or encumbrances whatsoever.
Uniform Legislation
Law No. 27,007 provides for two types of non-binding commitments between the Federal Government and the provinces regarding tax and environmental issues:
i. Environmental Legislation: It provides that the Federal Government and the provinces will seek to establish a uniform environmental legislation primarily aiming to apply the best environmental management practices to hydrocarbon exploration, exploitation and/or transportation with the purpose of furthering the development of the activity while properly protecting the environment.
ii. Tax System: It provides that the Federal Government and the provinces will seek to adopt a uniform fiscal treatment encouraging the development of hydrocarbon activities in their corresponding territories in adherence with the following guidelines:
Restrictions on the Reservation of Blocks to National or Provincial Government-Controlled Companies
The amendment to the Argentine Hydrocarbons Law restricts the Federal Government and the provinces from reserving new blocks in the future in favor of public or mixed companies or entities, irrespective of their legal form. Thus, contracts entered by provincial companies for the exploration and development of reserved blocks before this amendment are safeguarded.
Regarding blocks that have already been reserved in favor of public companies and that have not yet been awarded under joint venture agreements with third parties, associative schemes may be used, in which case the participation of such companies during the development stage will be proportional to their investments. In this way, the ‘carry’ system during the blocks’ development or exploitation stage has been done away with. Such system has not been prohibited for the exploration stage.
Conventional and Unconventional Hydrocarbon Investment Promotion Regime
On July 11, 2013, the PEN issued Executive Order No. 929/13, which created the Investment Promotion Regime for the Exploitation of Hydrocarbons —both conventional and unconventional— with the purpose of encouraging investments destined to the exploitation of hydrocarbons, and the concept of hydrocarbons unconventional exploitation concession.
Law No. 27,007 extends the benefits of the Promotion Regime to hydrocarbon projects involving a minimum of US$250 million direct investment denominated in foreign currency, assessed at the time the hydrocarbon exploitation investment project is presented, to be invested during its first 3 years. Before the amendment, the Promotion Regime benefits reached investment projects denominated in foreign currency for a minimum US$1,000 million amount during a term of 5 years.
Holders of exploration permits and/or hydrocarbons exploitation concessions, and/or third parties associated with such holders and registered with the National Registry of Hydrocarbon Investments submitting this kind of projects will enjoy the following rights as from the third year of their respective projects’ execution:
i. The right to freely sell abroad 20% and 60% of the liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon production in the case of conventional and unconventional exploitation projects and in offshore projects, respectively, with a 0% export duty, if applicable; and
ii. The free availability of 100% of the foreign currency derived from the exportation of these hydrocarbons, provided the applicable projects have involved a minimum of US$250 million entry of foreign currency into the Argentine financial market.
During periods in which the national production of hydrocarbons is insufficient to meet domestic supply needs pursuant to Section 6 of the Argentine Hydrocarbons Law, the subjects covered by the Promotion Regime will have, as from the third year following the execution of their respective investment projects, the right to obtain a price not lower than the reference export price (without computing the incidence of any applicable export duties) from the exportable liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon percentage produced under such projects.
Pursuant to these investment projects, Law No. 27,007 provides for two contributions payable to the producing provinces where the investment project is developed:
i. The first one, payable by the project holder, for an amount equivalent to 2.5% of the investment amount undertaken to be committed to corporate social responsibility projects; and
ii. The second contribution, payable by the Federal Government, which amount will be determined by the Hydrocarbon Investments Committee based on the size and scope of the investment project, and which will be destined to infrastructure projects.