BUENOS AIRES, Sept 8 (Reuters) - TotalEnergies said

Argentine natural gas must reach Brazil at a cost below $10 per

million British thermal units (mmBtu) to remain competitive,

Sergio Mengoni, the company's Argentina country chair, said on

Monday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale holds significant export

potential, but infrastructure gaps and pricing could hinder

competition with liquefied natural gas imports to Brazil.

KEY QUOTE

"We need infrastructure first - for Vaca Muerta gas to reach

the north and be used for exports - and then for transportation

tariffs in countries where the pipeline has been amortised to

drop a bit," Mengoni, head of TotalEnergies Argentina, said

during the Argentina Oil & Gas event in Buenos Aires.

BY THE NUMBERS

In April, TotalEnergies carried out a pilot test, exporting

500,000 cubic metres of gas per day from Vaca Muerta to Brazil's

Matrix Energía for 10 days through a Bolivian pipeline.

Mengoni said the final price needs to stay below $10/mmBtu

to remain competitive in Brazil.