Energy, Mining, Land, and Biofuels: Key Projects to be Addressed by Congress

Congress resumes activity with a packed agenda of projects related to energy, mining, fuels, infrastructure, and natural resources. In the coming days, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will take concrete actions on three central topics: the Super RIGI, the reform of the rural land regime, and an informational meeting on rare earths.

The discussion goes beyond each individual file. The common thread is the attempt to clear conditions for large investments: tax benefits, access to land, transport infrastructure, electricity availability, market rules, and new strategic resources.

According to the parliamentary agenda, this Wednesday there will be two relevant meetings. At 9:30 AM, the Mining Commission of Deputies will hold an informational meeting on rare earths. At 4 PM, the Senate will activate a plenary session of commissions to discuss the Incentive Regime for Large Investments in New Activities project, known as Super RIGI.

The day after, the Senate will continue the session to try to approve the Law of Inviolability of Private Property, which includes changes to the Rural Land Law.

Super RIGI: The Economic Project That the Senate Begins to Address

The Super RIGI will be one of the main topics of the legislative week. The project received half approval from Deputies on June 24 and will begin its treatment in the Senate this Wednesday, in a plenary of the commissions of General Legislation, National Economy, and Investment and Budget and Finance.

The ruling party will seek to issue a report during the first week of August and bring the text to the chamber during the second or third week of the month. However, that session date has not yet been formally convened and will depend on political negotiations.
The initiative is aimed at projects of at least $1 billion, with a commitment to execute at least 20% of the investment during the first two years.

The initiative is aimed at projects of at least $1 billion, with a commitment to execute at least 20% of the investment during the first two years. Unlike the original RIGI, it does not target any large-scale investment, but rather new industrial, technological, or strategic technological or digital infrastructure activities.

The text excludes simple expansions, modernizations, or improvements of existing facilities. Therefore, to enter the regime, an energy or mining company could not limit itself to expanding a deposit, a mine, or an operational plant. It would have to demonstrate that it is a new, experimental, pilot, or strategic activity.

Among the expected benefits are a 15% income tax rate, accelerated depreciation, exemptions for imports destined for the project, elimination of export duties, gradual free availability of foreign currency, and regulatory and fiscal stability.

The availability of dollars generated from exports would be 20% after the first year, 40% after the second, and 100% from the third year onwards. Additionally, the state would not be able to impose obligations for priority supply to the domestic market or quantitative restrictions on exports.

Infrastructure for Energy and Mining

One of the most relevant points of the Super RIGI is its connection to the infrastructure necessary for large energy, mining, and technological projects. The regime allows for the inclusion of exclusive works or those dedicated to the transportation, processing, storage, or export of production within the approved plan.

This universe can encompass power lines, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, roads, railway branches (such as Belgrano Cargas), processing plants, port facilities, water infrastructure, telecommunications, and data centers.

The government presents the project as a tool to attract investments in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, hydrogen, digital infrastructure, and critical minerals. In mining, the discussion could focus on processing critical minerals, refining, rare earth separation, production of advanced materials, or new extractive technologies.

The debate in the Senate will revolve around a floor of USD 1 billion, the reduced income tax rate, the free availability of foreign currency, the protection of exclusive infrastructure, provincial and municipal adherence, and the participation of national suppliers.

Land Law: Indirect Impact on Mining, Energy, and Infrastructure

The other topic confirmed for discussion is the Law of Inviolability of Private Property, which will return to the Senate chamber on Thursday. The bill, sent by the Executive Power, has already obtained a majority opinion and has been postponed several times.

The initiative is broad and is not limited to the foreignization of land. It includes changes to the Rural Land Law, expropriation procedures, evictions of occupied properties, fire management regulations, and compensations that the state must pay in cases of expropriation.

The chapter on rural lands is the most sensitive for the energy and mining agenda. Law 26.737 currently establishes a general limit of 15% on foreign ownership of rural land in the national territory, provinces, and municipalities or departments. It also sets nationality restrictions, surface limits, controls in border areas, and safeguards on properties with significant water bodies.

The reform does not automatically grant mining rights nor enable the exploitation of natural resources. In Argentina, land ownership is legally distinct from mining ownership, and provinces retain original dominion over their natural resources.

However, the change may impact energy and mining due to the possibility of acquiring necessary surfaces for camps, mining plants, roads, power lines, solar and wind parks, pipelines, ports, logistics centers, water infrastructure, or hydrogen plants.

The text is still under negotiation. In recent hours, the ruling party accepted to maintain a ceiling for foreign ownership between 20% and 25%, above the current limit of 15%, in addition to granting provinces the ability to authorize, regulate, or prevent operations. Therefore, the key data will be to know which version ultimately reaches the chamber.

The project once again tests the ruling party led in the Senate by Patricia Bullrich, and if that version is voted on, the attempts by Minister Federico Sturzenegger to eliminate limits on the sale of land in foreign hands would fail. But it is the concession that "Pato" seems willing to give to approve the initiative after the votes became complicated.

Biofuels: An Active Discussion, but No Formal Date in August

The new Biofuels Law is also part of the energy agenda, although there is still no formal call published for August. The discussion began in the Senate in a plenary session of the Mining, Energy and Fuels, and Budget and Finance committees.

There are six files under analysis. Among them are projects from Edith Terenzi Ávila, José María Carambia, Flavio Gadano, Alejandra Vigo, Carlos Espínola, Patricia Bullrich, Flavia Royón, María Teresa González de Arce, and María Victoria Rojas Decut.

Biofuels, a debate looming in the National Congress.

Bullrich's initiative has taken on political centrality. It proposes to initially maintain a biodiesel blend of 7.5%, raise it to 10% after the first year, and increase bioethanol from 12% to 15%. It also proposes a regulatory transition until December 31, 2031, and a regime lasting 15 years.

The negotiation involves producing provinces, oil companies, SMEs, and large oilseed companies. The main points of conflict are the level of mandatory blending, the pricing formula, the opening to imports, the distribution between corn and sugarcane in bioethanol, and the role of co-processing in refineries.

Energy Package: Cold Zone, Cammesa, and Renewables

Another relevant file is the energy package with half approval from the Chamber of Deputies, publicly known for the Cold Zone chapter. In reality, the text includes four axes: changes in gas subsidies, regularization of debts with Cammesa, cost transfers to tariffs, and modifications related to renewable energies and contracts.

The project preserves historical benefits for Patagonia, Malargüe, and the Puna, but in areas incorporated later, it replaces the generalized benefit with a focused bonus. It also extends the regime until December 31, 2031, and maintains its financing through a surcharge on the price of gas.

From the reform, households located in the expanded areas will only be able to access the additional subsidy if they are registered in the Focused Energy Subsidies (SEF) regime, created by the Government at the end of 2025.

IERAL Mediterranean Foundation

The new scheme will combine two simultaneous criteria:

• geographic location in areas of climatic severity;

• socioeconomic condition of the household.

According to the official text, those with incomes below three Total Basic Baskets will be able to access it, in addition to households with a Housing Certificate from ReNaBaP, veterans of the Malvinas, or people with disabilities included in the SEF system.

In the project's foundations, the Government maintains that the current regime has ceased to be sustainable after the territorial expansion of 2021.

According to the message sent to Congress, the 7.5% surcharge on gas is no longer sufficient to finance the system, and additional contributions from the National Treasury are currently required to cover the cost of the subsidy.

The official text also warns that the lack of financing has caused delays in the payment chain between gas distributors and producers.

Furthermore, the Government seeks to modify the way the bonus is calculated. Until now, the subsidy was applied to the total rate, including transportation and distribution. The new project limits the benefit exclusively to the price of gas at the Point of Entry to the Transportation System (PIST).

A report prepared by IERAL Fundación Mediterránea warned that the largest increases would fall on users in expanded areas who do not qualify for the new focused regime.

According to simulations carried out by the entity, an average residential user in Bahía Blanca who currently receives the cold zone subsidy and is excluded from the SEF could face an increase of nearly 100% in their monthly gas bill.

In contrast, those who maintain the benefit through the focused system would have smaller increases, although still higher than current rates due to the change in the subsidy calculation base.

IERAL's work states that the expansion of the Cold Zone carried out in 2021 incorporated regions with considerably lower consumption than those in Patagonia, which increased the fiscal cost without maintaining the original climatic criterion of the regime.

Meanwhile, the Cammesa chapter seeks to recognize differences generated during the tariff emergency and apply them as credits against debts and penalties of electricity distributors. Additionally, it consolidates the transfer to final rates of the costs of purchasing electricity, transportation, system services, and gas acquired by distributors.

Despite its importance, the file still does not have a ruling or formal date for treatment in the first week of August.

Rare Earths, Belgrano Cargas, and Electrical Infrastructure

In the Chamber of Deputies, the Mining Commission will hold an informational meeting with specialists on rare earths this Wednesday. A specific law will not be discussed, nor is it planned to issue a ruling. The meeting will serve to place the topic on the parliamentary agenda in a context of increased global demand for critical minerals.

A request for reports on the electrical infrastructure intended for the mining projects Vicuña, Josemaría, and Filo del Sol in San Juan has also come to light. The initiative aims to assess works such as the 500 kV Nueva San Juan-Rodeo line, the Rodeo-Chaparro extension, a transformer station, and the 220 kV connection with Josemaría. There is no confirmed date for discussion, but it opens a key debate: who will finance the energy needed for the large copper projects.

Meanwhile, the privatization of Belgrano Cargas is advancing through administrative channels of the Executive Power and not as a law that must be voted on by Congress. Nevertheless, it will be monitored by Parliament due to its impact on mining and agro-industrial logistics. The scheme includes the concession of tracks, auctioning of rolling stock, contracts for workshops, and operation under open access.

The immediate legislative agenda thus shows a broad map. Some initiatives have confirmed dates, such as Super RIGI, rural lands, and rare earths. Others are still under negotiation, such as biofuels and the energy package. And others are advancing outside the chamber, like Belgrano Cargas, but may be decisive for the infrastructure needed for the export growth of energy and mining.