LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Argentina has secured a total ofthree liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery this yearfrom oil major BP, Norway's Statoil and U.S.bank Morgan Stanley, trade sources said.
Latin America's No. 3 economy has struggled to source itsrecord LNG requirement of 83 cargoes for this year as it triesto offset falling domestic supplies amid surging demand.
In its latest tender launched in April, state-run oilcompany YPF asked global suppliers to submit offers for sevencargoes to be delivered for the rest of the year. It has onlybeen able to secure three of these.
"Argentina will pay around $16/mmBtu (million Britishthermal units) per cargo, plus or minus about 20 cents," onetrade source said.
Argentina this month paid Gazprom $16.25-$16.50/mmBtu for acargo from Egypt, according to data from energy consultancyWaterborne.
A recent slump in LNG demand from top global buyer Japan hasshifted the spotlight from Asia to major Latin Americaneconomies Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, which are seeking toavert energy shortages by increasing imports.