Argentina announces gas pipeline construction

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina’s government announced on Wednesday, February 9, a resolution to advance in the construction of the gas trunk pipeline from the Vaca Muerta formation, a pivotal work to revert the country’s energy deficit, as published in the official gazette.

The resolution of the Energy Secretariat declares of national interest the construction of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, which will start with natural gas from Tratayén in the province of Neuquén, where Vaca Muerta is located and will cross the provinces of Río Negro, La Pampa, and Buenos Aires, up to Santa Fe.

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Once completed, the project could prove vital to alleviate Argentina’s deficit public accounts, thanks to a reduction in energy imports and the new foreign currency generated by gas exports.

“At present, the transportation capacity of the three gas pipelines that link the Neuquina basin with the major consumption centers is practically saturated,” said Energy Secretary Darío Martínez in the resolution.

Due to this, “the gas producers of the said basin cannot and will not be able to continue increasing their production beyond an additional 5 to 6 million cubic meters per day, precisely because of the impossibility of evacuating it”.

The resolution establishes that the execution of the works will be carried out through Ieasa, a public company that manages energy infrastructure projects and assignments.

The construction will require, in the first stage, about 18 months of work and a public investment of approximately US$1.6 billion to inject 24 million cubic meters more per day of gas into the network by the winter of 2023, a government source explained in December.

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