Pampa Energy Inc. [PAM] Filings

20-F 1 pamform20f_2021.htm FORM 20-F

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 20-F

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

Commission File Number: 001-34429

PAMPA ENERGíA S.A.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Pampa Energy Inc.

(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

Argentina

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Maipú 1

C1084ABA, City of Buenos Aires

Argentina

(Address of principal executive offices)

María Carolina Sigwald

Maipú 1

C1084ABA, City of Buenos Aires

Argentina

Tel.: + 54 11 4344 6000 / Fax: + 54 11 4344 6473

(Name, telephone, e-mail and/or facsimile number and address of company contact person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Trading Symbol

Name of each exchange
on which registered

Common Stock

American Depositary Shares, each representing

25 shares of common stock, par value Ps.1.00 per share

PAM

New York Stock Exchange*

New York Stock Exchange

* Not for trading, but only in connection with the registration of American Depositary Shares, pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report:

1,382,527,041 outstanding shares of common stock, par value Ps.1.00 per share, excluding 3,878,939 treasury shares.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

x Yes

¨ No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

¨ Yes

x No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

x Yes

¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

x Yes

¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer	x	Accelerated Filer	¨
Non-Accelerated Filer	¨	Emerging Growth Company	¨

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (§ 15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. x

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP ¨

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board x

Other ¨

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

¨ Item 17

¨Item 18

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

¨ Yes

x No

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Item 1.	Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers	6
Item 2.	Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable	6
Item 3.	Key Information	6
EXCHANGE RATES		6
RISK FACTORS		7
Item 4.	Information on the Company	40
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY		40
OUR BUSINESS		41
Organizational structure		51
Our Generation Business		52
Our Oil and Gas Business		61
Our Petrochemicals Business		75
Our Holding and Other Business		76
IT and Cybersecurity		82
Quality, Health, Safety and Environment		83
Corporate Responsibility		85
Property, Plant and Equipment		88
Insurance		88
Patents and Trademarks		89
THE ARGENTINE ENERGY SECTOR		89
Item 4A.	Unresolved Staff Comments	116
Item 5.	Operating and Financial Review and Prospects	116
Item 6.	Directors, Senior Management and Employees	150
Item 7.	Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions	163
Item 8.	Financial Information	165
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS		165
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS		165
DIVIDENDS		169
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES		170
Item 9.	The Offer and Listing	170
TRADING HISTORY		170
THE ARGENTINE SECURITIES MARKET		172
Item 10.	Additional Information	177
MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION		177
MATERIAL CONTRACTS		184
EXCHANGE CONTROLS		184
TAXATION		189
DOCUMENTS ON DISPLAY		198
Item 11.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	199
Item 12.	Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities	199
Item 13.	Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies	201
Item 14.	Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds	201
Item 15.	Controls and Procedures	201
Item 16A.	Audit Committee Financial Expert	202

Item 16B.	Code of Ethics	202
Item 16C.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	202
Item 16D.	Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees	203
Item 16E.	Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers	204
Item 16F.	Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant	205
Item 16G.	Corporate Governance	05
Item 16H.	Mine Safety Disclosure	210
Item 17.	Financial Statements	211
Item 18.	Financial Statements	211
Item 19.	Exhibits	211

PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION

This document comprises the annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 of Pampa, that has been approved by resolution of the Board of Directors meeting of Pampa held on April 29, 2022. In this annual report, we use the terms “we”, “us”, “our”, “registrant” and the “Company” to refer to Pampa and its subsidiaries.

Financial Information

This annual report contains our audited consolidated statements of financial position as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the notes thereto (the “Consolidated Financial Statements”). The Consolidated Financial Statements have been audited by Price Waterhouse & Co. S.R.L., an independent registered public accounting firm in Buenos Aires, Argentina whose report is included in this annual report. Price Waterhouse & Co. S.R.L. is a member of the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited network.

Our Consolidated Financial Statements are set forth in Item 18 beginning on page F-1 of this annual report. Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (the “IASB”). The Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report have been approved by resolution of the Board of Directors’ meeting of the Company held on March 10, 2022.

Consistent with Item 18 of Form 20-F, we provide the disclosure required under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 932 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) relating to extractive activities—Oil and Gas (formerly, FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 69—Disclosures about Oil and Gas Producing Activities) (“ASC Topic 932”), as is required regardless of the basis of accounting on which we prepare our financial statements.

Functional and Presentation Currency

The information included in the Consolidated Financial Statements has been recorded in the functional currency of the Company, which is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates. The Company’s functional currency is U.S. Dollars, which is also the presentation currency.

The results and financial position of subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates that have a different functional currency have been translated into the Company’s functional currency and the results from the translation process have been recognized in “Other Comprehensive Income (loss)”. For more information, see Note 4.3 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Rounding

Certain figures included in this annual report (including percentage amounts) have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, certain totals may therefore not precisely equal the sum of the numbers presented.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains estimates and forward-looking statements, principally in “Item 3. Risk Factors,” “Item 4. Our Business” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.” Some of the matters discussed herein concerning our business operations and financial performance include estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

Our estimates and forward-looking statements are mainly based on our current expectations and estimates on future events and trends that affect or may affect our business and results of operations. Although we believe that these estimates and forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they are subject to several risks and uncertainties and are made in light of information currently available to us.

Our estimates and forward-looking statements may be influenced by the following factors, among others:

the availability of financing at reasonable terms to Argentine companies, such as us;

uncertainties relating to future government approvals or legal actions, such as provisional remedies, that could affect our tariffs;

changes in the price of hydrocarbons and their derivatives;

changes in the price of power and other related services;

the volume of crude oil, natural gas and derivatives we produce and sell;

our ability to renew certain concessions;

the ability to develop and monetize conventional and unconventional reserves;

our ability to develop our expansion projects and to win awards for new potential projects;

changes to our reserves estimates;

the treatment of the tariff update according to RTI;

electricity shortages;

changes in the laws and regulations applicable to the energy sector in Argentina;

government interventions, resulting in changes in the economy, taxes, tariffs, the regulatory framework or environmental matters, or in the delay or withholding of governmental approvals;

general economic, social and political conditions in Argentina, and other regions where we, our subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures operate, such as the rate of economic growth, fluctuations in exchange rates of the Peso or inflation;

more severe restrictions on the ability to exchange Pesos into foreign currencies or to transfer funds abroad;

competition in the electricity sector, public utility services and related industries;

competition in the hydrocarbon sector and related industries;

obsolescence of products manufactured in our petrochemical facilities;

export limitations to our production;

import restrictions on consumables that are key for the maintenance of our assets;

the impact of high rates of inflation on our costs;

the effect of steep local currency depreciation on our Peso-denominated revenues;

changes to our capital expenditure plans;

the failure of governmental authorities to approve proposed measures or transactions described in this annual report;

deterioration in regional and local business and economic conditions in or affecting Argentina;

any potential negative consequences arising in connection with our ongoing or future mergers, acquisitions, divestitures or other corporate reorganizations;

changes in general economic, business, political or other conditions in Argentina or changes in general economic or business conditions in other Latin American countries;

the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and any subsequent mandatory regulatory restrictions or containment measures imposed in response thereto;

risks related with cybersecurity events, including potential cyberattacks;

the risks associated with climate change and severe weather events;

the transition process and phasing out of LIBOR; and

other risks factors discussed under “Item 3. Risk Factors.”

The words “believe”, “may”, “will”, “aim”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and similar words are intended to identify estimates and forward-looking statements. Estimates and forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to update or to renew any estimates and/or forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or other factors. Estimates and forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Our future results may differ materially from those expressed in these estimates and forward-looking statements. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the estimates and forward-looking statements discussed in this annual report might not occur and our future results and our performance may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements due to factors including, but not limited to, those mentioned above.

GLOSSARY

Glossary of certain terms used in this Annual Report

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms have the meanings shown below:

“ADR”: American Depositary Receipt;

“ADS” or “ADSs”: American Depositary Shares;

“AFIP”: Federal Administration of Public Revenue (Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos);

“ANSES”: National Social Security Agency (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social);

“Anti-Money Laundering Law”: Law No. 25,246, subsequently amended by, among others, Laws No. 26,087, 26,119, 26,268, 26,683, 26,733, 26,734 and Decree No. 27/2018;

“Authorized Markets”: securities markets in Argentina that require authorization from the CNV to operate;

“BCRA” or “Central Bank”: Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina (Banco Central de la República Argentina);

“Banco Nación”: Banco de la Nación Argentina;

“BASE”: Buenos Aires Stock Exchange;

“bbl”: Barrel of crude oil;

“BCL”: Business Corporation Law;

“Board of Directors”: the board of directors of Pampa Energía S.A.;

“boe”: Barrel of oil equivalent;

“ByMA”: Argentine stock exchange and markets (Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos S.A.);

“CAMMESA”: Wholesale Electric Market Administration Company (Compañía Administradora del Mercado Eléctrico Mayorista Sociedad Anónima);

“Caja de Valores”: Caja de Valores S.A.;

“CC”: Combined Cycle;

“CIESA” Compañía de Inversiones de Energía;

“CISA”: Comercializadora e Inversora S.A. (former Pampa Comercializadora S.A.);

“CITELEC” Compañía Inversora en Transmisión Eléctrica Citelec S.A.;

“CML”: Capital Markets Law No. 26,831, as amended by, among others, Law 27,440;

“CMIEE”: Average Incremental Charge of Surplus Demand (Cargo Medio Incremental de la Demanda Excedente);

“CNG”: compressed natural gas;

“CNV”: Comisión Nacional de Valores;

“Corporate Criminal Liability Law”: Corporate Criminal Liability Law No. 27,401;

“Covid-19”: the novel coronavirus, pneumonia originating in Wuhan, China;

“CPB”: Central Piedra Buena S.A. or “Central Térmica Piedra Buena”;

“CPI”: Consumers Prices Index;

“CSJN”: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación;

“CTB”: CT Barragán S.A. (former Parques Eólicos Argentinos S.A.);

“CTEB”: Central Térmica Ensenada de Barragán;

“CTIW”: Central Térmica Ingeniero White;

“CTG”: Central Térmica Güemes S.A.;

“CTGEBA” or “Genelba”: Central Térmica Genelba;

“CTLL”: Central Térmica Loma La Lata S.A. or “Central Térmica Loma La Lata”;

“CTP”: Central Térmica Piquirenda;

“CTPP”: Central Térmica Parque Pilar;

“CVP”: Corporación Venezolana de Petróleo S.A;

“DoP”: delivery or pay;

“Pampa Bloque18”: Pampa Bloque18 S.A. (former EcuadorTLC S.A.);

“Edenor”: Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte S.A.;

“Edesur”: Empresa Distribuidora Sur S.A.;

“EMESA”: Empresa Mendocina de Energía Sociedad Anónima;

“ENARGAS”: Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas or National Gas Regulatory Entity;

“ENRE”: Ente Nacional Regulador de la Electricidad or Electricity Regulatory Entity;

“ENOPSA”: Energía Operaciones ENOPSA S.A. (former Petrobras Energía Operaciones Ecuador S.A.);

“Energy Plus”: a program under SE Resolution 1,281/2006;

“Exchange Act”: United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;

“FCA”: United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority;

“FO or GO”: Fuel Oil or Gas Oil;

“FODER”: Fondo para el Desarrollo de Energía Renovables;

“FONINVEMEM”: Fund for Investments required to increase the Power Supply in the Electricity Wholesale Market (Fondo Para Inversiones Necesarias que Permitan Incrementar la Oferta de Energía Eléctrica en el Mercado Eléctrico Mayorista);

“Foundation”: Fundación Pampa Energía S.A;

“GaffneyCline”: Gaffney, Cline & Associates;

“G&P”: Gas y Petróleo de Neuquén S.A.;

“GDP”: Gross Domestic Product;

“GHG” Greenhouse gas;

“Greenwind”: Greenwind S.A.;

“GO and FO”: natural gas or liquid fuels;

“GT”: gas turbine;

“GU”: Large Users (Grandes Usuarios);

“GUMA”: Major Large Users (Grandes Usuarios Mayores);

“GUME”: Minor Large Users (Grandes Usuarios Menores);

“GUDI”: Major Distribution Users (Grandes Usuarios del Distribuidor);

“HIDISA”: Hidroeléctrica Diamante S.A.;

“HINISA”: Hidroeléctrica Los Nihuiles S.A.;

“HMRT”: hours with a high thermal demand;

“HPPL”: Pichi Picún Leufú Hydroelectric Complex

“Hydrocarbons Law”: Law No. 17,319 as amended by Law No. 27,007;

“IEASA”: Integración Energética Argentina S.A. (former Energía Argentina S.A.);

“IGJ”: City of Buenos Aires’s Public Registry of Commerce (Inspección General de Justicia);

“IMF”: International Money Fund;

“INDEC”: National Statistics and Census Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos);

“Independent Reserves Engineers Firm”: Gaffney, Cline & Associates;

“IPIM”: Wholesale Domestic Price Index (Índice de Precios Internos al por Mayor);

“IREC”: International Renewable Energy Certificates;

“J.P. Morgan”: JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A;“LNG”: liquefied natural gas;

“LPG”: liquefied petroleum gas;

“MAT”: Term Market (Mercado a Término);

“MAT ER”: Renewable Energy Term Market;

“MBTU”: millions of British Thermal Units (BTU);

“MDP”: Ministry of Productive Development (former SGE)

“ME&M”: Ministry of Energy and Mining;

“MLC”: Free Exchange Market (Mercado Libre de Cambios);

“National CPI”: a CPI which is based on a survey conducted by the INDEC and several provincial statistical offices in 39 urban areas including each of Argentina’s provinces;

“NYSE”: New York Stock Exchange;

“OCP”: Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados Ltd.;

“Official Gazette”: Official Gazette of Argentina (Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina);

“Oldelval”: Oleoductos del Valle S.A.;

“Pampa” or “the Company”: Pampa Energía S.A.;

“Pampa Cogeneración”: Pampa Cogeneración S.A.;

“PDVSA”: Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.;

“PEB”: Pampa Energía Bolivia S.A. (former “PBI” - Petrobras Bolivia Internacional S.A.);

“PEMC”: Parque Eólico Ingeniero Mario Cebreiro;

“PEN”: National Executive Branch (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional);

“PEO”: Petrobras Energía Operaciones S.A.;

“Pesos” or “Ps.”: Argentine Pesos;

“Petrobras Argentina”: Petrobras Argentina S.A.;

“Petrobras”: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A;

“Petrolera Pampa”: Petrolera Pampa S.A.;

“PGSM”: Puerto General San Martin;

“PHA”: PHA S.A.U.;

“PISA”: Pampa Inversiones S.A.;

“PIST”: Transportation System Entry Point or natural gas price at the wellhead (Punto de Ingreso al de Sistema de Transporte);

“Plan Gas.Ar”: the Plan to Promote Argentine Natural Gas Production;

“Polisur”: PBB Polisur S.A;

“PPA” or “PPAs”: relevant wholesale electricity supply agreements or power purchase agreements (Contratos de Abastecimiento Mayorista de Electricidad);

“PROCELAC”: Procuraduría de Criminalidad Económica y Lavado de Activos;

“Public Emergency Law”: Law No. 25,561 – the Public Emergency and Exchange Rate Regime Reform Law;

“QHSE”: Quality, Health, Safety and Environment;

“Refinor”: Refinería del Norte S.A.;

“RENPER”: National Registry of Renewable Source Electric Power Generation Projects (Registro de Proyectos de Generación de Energía Eléctrica de Fuente Renovable);

“Reserves Report”: the year-end reserves report by Gaffney, Cline & Associates;

“RTI”: Revisión Tarifaria Integral (Comprehensive Tariff Review);

“SACDE”: Sociedad Argentina de Construcción y Desarrollo Estratégico S.A.;

“SADI”: the Argentine Electricity Interconnected Grid (Sistema Argentino de Interconexión);

“SBR”: styrene butadiene rubber;

“SE”: Secretariat of Energy (Secretaría de Energía);

“SEC”: Security and Exchange Commission;

“Securities Act”: U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended;

“SEE”: Subsecretariat of Electric Energy, former Secretariat of Electric Energy (Subsecretaría de Energía Eléctrica);

“SGE”: Former Government Secretariat of Energy (former Ministry of Energy (former ME&M)) (Ex Secretaría de Gobierno de Energía (ex Ministry of Energy (former ME&M));

“SHC”: Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons and Fuels (Subsecretaría de Recursos Hidrocarburíferos (ex Secretaría de Recursos Hidrocarburíferos);

“Social Solidarity and Productive Reactivation Law”: Law No. 27,541;

“SOFR”: Secured Overnight Financing Rate;

“SRRYME”: Secretary of Renewable Resources and Electricity Market (Secretaría de Recursos Renovables y Mercado Eléctrico);

“SSERyEE”: Undersecretary of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (Subsecretaría de Energías Renovables y Eficiencia Energética de la Nación);

“ST”: steam turbine;

“TGS”: Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A.;

“TJSM”: Termoeléctrica José de San Martín S.A.;

“TMB”: Termoeléctrica Manuel Belgrano S.A.;

“ToP”: take or pay;

“Transba”: Empresa de Transporte de Energía Eléctrica por Distribución Troncal de la Provincia de Buenos Aires Transba S.A.;

“Transelec”: Transelec Argentina S.A.;

“Transener”: Compañía de Transporte de Energía Eléctrica en Alta Tensión Transener S.A.;

“UIF”: Financial Information Unit (Unidad de Información Financiera);

“U.S.”: United Stated of America;

“US$ and/ or U.S. Dollars”: U.S. currency;

“UTEs”: joint operations (Unión Transitoria);

“VAT”: Value Added Tax;

“WEM”: Wholesale Electricity Market;

“WEM Large Users”: WEM users with a capacity higher than 300 KW;

“YPF”: YPF S.A.

Item 1.

Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable.

Item 2.

Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

Item 3.

Key Information

EXCHANGE RATES

Exchange Rates

The following table sets forth the high, low, average and period-end exchange rates for the periods indicated, expressed in Pesos per U.S. Dollar and not adjusted for inflation. There can be no assurance that the Peso will not depreciate or appreciate again in the future. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York does not report a noon buying rate for Pesos.

	*Exchange rates⁽¹⁾*
	*(in Pesos per U.S. Dollars)*
	*High*	*Low*	*Average⁽²⁾*	*Period end*
Year ended December 31,
2017	19.200	15.190	16.572	18.649