A rise in crude oil production in Argentina could result in the growth of exports from the South American nation, new figures have suggested.

Argentina's deputy secretary of hydrocarbons and fuels Carlos Casares told S&P Global Platts at Engineering Week that local demand is already being met thanks to both increased production and widening use of electricity and natural gas.

He explained the country currently products around 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, but has the capacity to run to around 560,000 bpd, according to Energy Secretariat data.

Although there have been calls for investment in refinery upgrades and a new plant to boost output of premium diesel and petroleum products, Mr Casares said he didn't think this was likely because it would require billions of dollars' worth of investment.

Instead, the government official said he expects the increase in light crude will be traded elsewhere.

"It's all going to go for exports," he concluded.

Optimistic figures from the Energy Secretariat suggest Argentina could be producing one million bpd of oil by 2023.

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