Stargate Argentina data center, Patagonia, Argentina

Stargate Argentina, the AI data center OpenAI and Argentine company Sur Energy announced for Patagonia in October 2025, still has no confirmed site, no filing under the government's large-investment incentive scheme and no public timetable. The two companies signed a letter of intent for a data center of up to 500 megawatts of power, with investment of up to $25 billion, and Sur Energy said it was evaluating sites in the provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro and Chubut.

President Javier Milei's office announced the project on October 10, 2025, two weeks before elections, calling it the biggest yet under the RIGI incentive regime, which offers 30-year fiscal and customs benefits. "This is our first Stargate project in Latin America, a region full of talent, creativity and ambition," OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said in a video message at the time. Sur Energy co-founder Emiliano Kargieman said the money would come from investment funds rather than OpenAI, with energy supply deals already signed with Central Puerto and Genneia.

Information published in June 2026 placed the site search in the Confluencia department of Neuquen, near the Limay River, with Senillosa and Arroyito mentioned, though neither location was confirmed, the regional paper Diario Nuevo Dia reported.

Argentina's Economy Ministry acknowledged in May 2026 that nothing yet backs up the government's statement of intent. "Stargate has not been presented. We do not even include it in the 'announcements' because there has really been no mention of timescale, sums or localities," said Dario Clemente, a researcher with the RIGI Observatory of the environmental group FARN. The observatory said it could not study the project's environmental effects because "like all RIGI projects, it is totally opaque."

OpenAI and Sur Energy did not answer questions about progress, and Demian Reidel, the official Economy Minister Luis Caputo credited when the deal was announced, has since been indicted; he had led the state nuclear company until February 2026.

A project under RIGI must be cleared and published in Argentina's Official Gazette, and as of May 2026, Stargate was not among the 17 RIGI projects approved or the 23 under evaluation. No site, final investment decision or start of construction had been announced as of September 2026.