OREANDA-NEWS. Argentina?s government has ordered the industrial sector to suspend gas consumption as a labor strike in the country's southernmost province and a weather-related delay in unloading two LNG cargoes have curtailed supplies.

A strike by oil workers in Tierra del Fuego province has decreased supply to the national pipeline grid by 16mn m3, the energy ministry said.

As a result, an emergency committee summoned by the gas regulator Enargas called on the manufacturing sector to progressively cut its gas use and thermal power plants to decrease their use of natural gas.

Supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) across the country is also at risk if the strike is not lifted, the energy ministry warned.

One respite could come from improving weather conditions which should allow the LNG cargoes to unload soon, an energy ministry official said.

Argentina has two LNG receiving terminals at Bahia Blanca and Escobar. It was not immediately clear where two cargoes were waiting to unload.

Argentina has imported 1,000MW of power, largely from Brazil, to deal with the short-term gas shortage. The country also imports some power from northern Chile.

Newly agreed pipeline gas imports from Chile are also helping to alleviate the crisis.

The union in Tierra del Fuego called on workers to leave their job posts today for a protest against a recent increase in gas prices.

"Everything should return to normal later today," a union spokesman said.

Residents and politicians from Patagonian provinces have been among the most vocal opponents of higher gas tariffs, saying they disproportionately affect their residents who rely on the fuel for heating during the cold winter months.

The increase in gas tariffs came as part of a broad set of rate hikes for public services ushered in by the government of President Mauricio Macri, who took office in December 2015, to tackle a fiscal deficit of around 7pc of GDP.