Last week a trade mission representing the Argentine province of Neuqu & #233;n visited Irvine to promote the province’s significant oil and gas reserves as well as its electrical generating capacity.
While the transmission of electricity from Argentina to the U.S. remains on the drawing board due to sheer distance and lack of efficient transmission lines, Nequ & #233;n’s tantalizingly large fossil fuel reserves provide a much more current opportunity for gas-starved California.
Neuqu & #233;n is Argentina’s largest oil and gas producer, with a third of the country’s petroleum reserves and almost half that nation’s total gas reserves.
U.S. entities with representatives at the event included John Wayne Airport and Orange-based Varco International, San Diego-based Sempra Energy, Monterey Park-based Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
SoCal Gas distributes to more than 5 million meters throughout Southern California, while San Diego Gas & Electric supplies electricity to parts of South Orange County and all of San Diego County.
The mission’s OC visit was organized by the Santa Ana-based Orange County Office of Protocol and sponsored by Sempra and Varco.
