Argentina's energy activity showed a slight decline in the third quarter (July-September) of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. This was reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC).
The Synthetic Energy Index (ISE) fell by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter but rose by 1.8% year-on-year. Despite the overall downturn, oil refining and self-generation of electricity drove growth in the sector.
The main factors for the decline were the electricity and gas generation sectors. Specifically, the net electricity generation of the National Interconnected System (SIN), which does not include energy used as an input in the production process of power plants, showed a decrease of 1.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. This was mainly due to lower thermal generation, the agency highlighted. In this sector, opinions are divided for the fourth and final quarter: 50% of firms expect internal demand to increase, while the other 50% estimate it will remain stable.
Gas distribution during the third quarter of the year decreased by 3.4% year-on-year, mainly as a result of a lower volume of gas distributed to industrial and residential users. The distributed gas does not include gas delivered to power plants. In this sector, a negative opinion prevails: 91.7% believe that internal demand will not change, and the remaining 8.3% consider it will increase.
In the oil refining sector, despite an annual production decline of 4.4%, some optimism is emerging. Gasoil for power plants showed a positive performance. In the fourth quarter, 45.5% of firms expect a decrease in domestic demand, 36.3% expect it to remain stable, and 18.2% expect it to increase. Regarding exports, 36.4% forecast a decrease, 27.2% expect stability, 9.1% expect an increase, and 27.3% of companies in the sector do not plan to export.
Meanwhile, mixed trends are observed in the sector. Biodiesel production fell by 9.6%, while bioethanol production increased by 5.3% year-on-year. The growth in the latter was due to a 3% increase in sugarcane bioethanol production and a 7.7% increase in corn bioethanol production.
"According to information obtained from the Argentine News Agency, the Synthetic Energy Index (ISE) fell by 0.2% and increased by 1.8% in inter-quarterly and inter-annual variations, respectively. The data corresponds to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), which shows that oil and self-generation of electricity drove the increase in energy activity."
