The governor of Salta has requested that the national government ensure the supply of natural gas in the northern region during the winter.

Gustavo Sáenz stated that there is uncertainty regarding the supply of gas due to low temperatures. The governor of Salta, Gustavo Sáenz, recorded a video and shared it on his social media to demand that the national government guarantee the supply of gas in northern Argentina in anticipation of the arrival of winter. "We cannot continue to be second-class Argentinians," the governor claimed, warning that the region faces the same uncertainty regarding supply every year when temperatures drop, without any definitive solutions. The governor of Salta justified his demand based on the historical contribution of the province to the country's energy matrix. "Salta was, for decades, a province that supplied gas to Argentina. Energy from our land was used to supply and grow the country. That is why we cannot accept that we now have to beg for something that we, the people of Salta, have historically provided," he said, according to the official statement from the provincial government. Sáenz emphasized that the problem directly affects thousands of families, businesses, and industries in the north, whose productive and daily planning is jeopardized by the lack of technical certainty. "I want to be very clear: northern Argentina deserves predictability, investment, and definitive solutions," he said, reaffirming his commitment to raise the issue with the relevant authorities. "What we are asking for is not a privilege: it is what our people deserve," he concluded in the video. Sáenz's statement comes in the context of specific restrictions in the national gas system. Starting at 6:00 AM on April 28, the main distributors in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Naturgy and Metrogas, ordered to limit the sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) to the "contracted amount," suspending the interruptible service for gas stations and industries. The measure aimed to prevent a drop in pressure in the gas pipelines due to the first cold snap of the year. The lack of progress in reversing the Northern Gas Pipeline leaves Salta, Jujuy, and Tucumán in a situation of gas scarcity. The situation in northern Argentina is, according to available data, structurally more serious than in the metropolitan area. With the work on reversing the Northern Gas Pipeline still incomplete, provinces such as Salta, Jujuy, and Tucumán face a scenario of scarcity that is already affecting manufacturing and agro-industrial sectors. It is within this context that Sáenz's demand takes on concrete urgency: it is not a preventive warning, but a demand in the face of a problem that, according to the governor himself, "cannot continue to be accepted as normal." The governor's concern is supported by signals from the private sector. The Industrial Union of Salta (UIS) issued a statement—quoted by the Salta media outlet—in which it warned that companies are undergoing contract negotiations without clear resolutions. The statement noted that "the lack of transportation infrastructure from Vaca Muerta to northern Argentina and the priority that the system gives to residential demand during the colder months threaten to create restrictions for industries such as ceramics, foundries, tanneries, and mining." The UIS statement also pointed to the cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an unviable alternative: its price is six times higher than that of gas from Neuquén. The paradox it describes is striking: "There is plenty of gas, but there is no capacity to transport it." Energy economist Juan José Carbajales projected that the LNG bill for this winter could reach USD 1.4 billion, double what it cost in 2025. At that price, he warned, "industry will not consume that gas; there will be cuts: either production will be halted or coal will be used, which is cheaper, although more polluting." The contrast with previous years illustrates the magnitude of the change. In 2025, Enarsa acquired 27 ships for a total of USD 697.9 million. In 2022, after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Argentina imported 41 ships at a cost of USD 2.884.8 billion. For the current winter, estimates point to a more limited volume of purchases, both due to international restrictions and the industry's reluctance to accept the new prices.