UPDATE 1-Argentina lifts gas restrictions as supply crunch eases

Argentina has begun normalizing natural gas transport and lifting supply restrictions on industries after a severe cold snap led to record domestic demand, the country's energy secretariat said on Friday. The secretariat on Friday said that than an emergency committee tasked with resolving issues on the country's gas pipelines had completed its work after a cold snap caused supply problems earlier this week.

Argentina has begun normalizing natural gas transport and lifting supply restrictions on industries after a severe cold snap led to record domestic demand, the country's energy secretariat said on Friday.

The secretariat on Friday said that than an emergency committee tasked with resolving issues on the country's gas pipelines had completed its work after a cold snap caused supply problems earlier this week. "The gas transportation system is no longer in emergency and pressures in gas pipelines and stations for its regulation and measurement have been normalized," the secretariat said in a statement.

Restrictions, which had been imposed on industries and compressed natural gas (GNC) stations on Wednesday due to unprecedented residential demand from the coldest weather in 30 years, are now largely lifted. The extreme cold, which brought unusual below-freezing temperatures to Buenos Aires, forced Argentina, home to the Vaca Muerta shale formation, to suspend its nascent gas exports to meet local needs.