ARGENTINA

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1. General Overview

1.1.1 General geographic information

Main territory of Argentina is located in continental South America, bounded by Bolivia and Paraguay on the north; by Brazil, Uruguay, and the South Atlantic Ocean on the east; by the South Atlantic Ocean and Chile on the south; and by Chile on the west. Another significant territory has been historically claimed by Argentina on several island groups in the South Atlantic Ocean, including the "Malvinas" (Falkland), and in Antartica, representing a total of approx. 970.000 km2. Considering only the continental territory in South America strechting between the Bolivian border (at 21º South Lat.) and the extreme south of Tierra del Fuego (at 55º South Lat.), the north to south length of Argentina is 3 799 km; its extreme width is 1 423 km; and its area is 2.791.810 km2. Argentina is the second largest South American country; its borders with other countries amount to 9 376 km and its total coastline on the South Atlantic Ocean (including islands) measures 4 725 km in length.

Argentina has a diverse territory of mountains, upland areas, and large plains. The western boundary of the country is within the Andes mountain system. Eastward from the base of the Andean system, the terrain of Argentina is almost entirely flat or gently undulating plain. The Pampas, treeless plains that include the most productive agricultural sections of the country, extend nearly 1,600 km south from Chaco (northern forests) and north from Patagonia. In Patagonia, southern territory of continental Argentina with nearly one million km2, the terrain is largely arid, with desolate steppes. Sources for geographic data : "Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos" (INDEC, Federal Institute for Statistics and Census. www.indec.gov.ar), "Instituto Geográfico Militar" (IGM, Geographic institute of the Army. www.igm.gov.ar), "Servicio de Hidrografía Naval" (SHN, Hydrographic Service of the Navy. www.hidro.gov.ar). Additional information on geographic data can be obtained at their sites.

Temperate weather conditions prevail throughout most of Argentina, except for a small tropical area in the north-east and the subtropical Chaco region in the north, as well as colder areas in southern Patagonia including Tierra del Fuego and other islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Near Buenos Aires the average annual temperature is a mild 16.1 °C. January and July averages for this area are 23.3 °C and 9.4 °C, respectively. Considerably higher temperatures prevail near the tropic of Capricorn in the north. The annual average temperature in this region is 23.3 °C with extremes as high as 45 °C. Weather is generally cold in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. In the western section of Patagonia, corresponding to the Patagonian Andes, winter temperatures average about 0 °C. In most coastal areas, however, the ocean exerts a moderating influence on temperatures.

Precipitation in Argentina has wide regional variations: south and west are semiarid, but the extreme north gets more than 152 cm of rainfall annually. Near Buenos Aires annual rainfall is about 102 cm. Additional information on climate data can be obtained at the site of the "Servicio Meteorologico Nacional" (SMN, National Meteorological Service), www.meteonet.gov.ar

1.1.2 Population

Argentina is constituted by 23 provinces and the self-governing Federal District of Buenos Aires. According to the Federal Constitution (amended in 1994), Argentina is a federal republic headed by a president, assisted by ministers and secretaries, which constitute the "Executive" branch of the Federal Government. The other two branches of it are the "Legislative" one (or "National Congress" comprising two chambers, namely the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives) and the "Justice" branch, headed by the Nation´s Supreme Court.

In 2002, Argentina's population was estimated at approx. 38. million of which about 89% lived in urban areas, see Table 1 for the historical population data. More than one-third of the population lives in or around of Buenos Aires, the capital and the largest city, with a population of 11 460 000 including its suburban area. Other important cities are Córdoba (metropolitan area population of 1 180 000), a major manufacturing and university city; the river port of Rosario (metropolitan area population of 1 160 000); Mendoza (metropolitan area population of 780 000); Tucumán (population 625 000); Mar del Plata (520 000)

Source of population data : "Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos" (INDEC, Federal Institute for Statistics and Census). Additional information on population data can be obtained at its site: www.indec.gov.ar

TABLE 1. POPULATION INFORMATION

Source: IAEA Energy and Economic Database, Country Information.

1.1.3 Economic Indicators

Table 2 shows the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita, their growth rates and the GDP by sector.

TABLE 2. GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)

Source: Data & Statistics/The World Bank, Country Information

1.1.4 Primary Energy Situation

Most rivers and waterfalls with potential energy are far from the industrial centres, but despite these limitations water resources have been widely developed in Argentina (hydraulic resource potential is 1,926,000 TJ). Major hydroelectric projects undertaken in the 1970's and 1980's are in the northern Patagonia (Chocon, Cerros Colorados, Piedra del Aguila, etc.), on the Paraná River (Yacireta, a joint project with Paraguay), and on the Uruguay River (Salto Grande, in co-operation with Uruguay).

Although the country has a variety of mineral deposits (only one fifth of the country has been surveyed), mining has been relatively unimportant, contributing only 0.2% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since the gas and petroleum sector privatization, exploration for hydrocarbons has increased significantly. Proven natural gas reserves amount to 579 million metric tons. Coal reserves in Argentina are limited: lignite deposits are estimated at 195 million t and peat at 90 million t.

Argentina has moderate uranium resources (proven reserves of 5 240 tn and additional estimated resources of 2400 tn). Source : National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA)

Table 3 shows total energy resources. Table 4 shows the energy statistics

TABLE 3. ESTIMATED ENERGY RESERVES

Source: Country Information

1.2. Energy Policy

As a result of governmental policies during the three decades of 1960´s, 70´s and 80´s the electricity sector has been characterized by:

· Diversification of energy source technologies:The utilization of hydroelectric resources and the development of nuclear technology have reduced the share of fossil fuels to 42% of the total in 1994 relative to 93% in 1972. However, during the 1990´s decade the increases in the total installed capacity came mainly from:

Ø Completion of the remaining large hydro-electric capabilities;

Ø Additional capacity was fulfilled mainly through the erection of new combined cycle gas turbine plants.

TABLE 4. ENERGY STATISTICS                                                                              Exajoule