Asian player enters South America with multi-year job for Argentina LNG project

June 8, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India’s largest integrated transport utility that is part of the globally diversified Adani Group, has won a decade-long marine services contract for Argentina’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export, marking its entry into South America and expanding its international marine services footprint.

The contract has been awarded to APSEZ’s step-down subsidiary, Adani Harbour International FZCO, through a consortium with Argentina-based Meridian Group, following a global competitive tender process conducted by Southern Energy S.A. (SESA). This award is perceived to strengthen the Asian firm’s presence across international energy logistics value chains.

Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at APSEZ, commented: “This project reflects our growing capability to support large-scale energy infrastructure projects across geographies. With marine operations in 12 countries and a growing fleet of marine assets supporting ports, LNG terminals, national oil companies, refineries and offshore facilities, we bring deep operational expertise to complex maritime environments.

“By combining these capabilities with strong local partnerships, we are helping create reliable maritime ecosystems that enable new energy trade corridors and strengthen long-term supply resilience.”

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The APSEZ-Meridian consortium will provide end-to-end marine services, including tugboat operations for LNG carriers, offshore logistics and supply support, and crew transfer services, supported by four high-specification tugboats, one anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel, and one crew boat.

The contract will be executed through Meridian Transportes Marítimos, the 51:49 joint venture between Adani Harbour International FZCO and Meridian Group. Southern Energy’s FLNG project is being developed by SESA, a joint venture between Golar LNG and Pan American Energy (PAE).

Located in the San Matías Gulf in Argentina’s Río Negro province, the project will liquefy natural gas from the General San Martin pipeline aboard the FLNG Hilli Episeyo, with commercial operations expected to begin in September 2027.

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The project is expected to produce 2.45 million tons of LNG annually in its first phase, equivalent to approximately 28 cargoes per year, making it Argentina’s first operational LNG export project, while the country is emerging as a major new LNG supplier.

With agreements in place to support exports of up to 10 million tonnes annually to India from 2027, the Southern Energy FLNG project is expected to play an important role in connecting this growing supply base to global demand centers.

SESA is dedicated to breathing life into Argentina’s first large-scale LNG export venture, comprising two floating LNG terminals with a combined capacity of about 6 mtpa. Aside from the first FLNG, Hilli Episeyo, there is also the second, MK II, which will add 3.5 mtpa from late 2028.