Argentina’s Neuquen Maps 750 Kilometres of Roads to Take Vaca Muerta West to Chile
ARGENTINA · ENERGY
Key Facts
—What happened: Argentina’s Neuquén province took a 750-kilometre road plan to Chile to tie Vaca Muerta to Pacific ports.
—The corridor: The route would run parallel to the Andes, linking 20 towns, 20 lakes and the border passes.
—The energy deal: Neuquén and Chile’s Biobío region set up technical tables to move shale gas west toward Asia.
—The catch: The pipelines and ports exist, but the Argentine side of the key border pass is still gravel.
—Who is driving it: Governors Rolando Figueroa of Neuquén and Sergio Giacaman of Biobío met in Concepción on Thursday.
—What comes next: Paving toward the Pichachén pass starts in March, and Biobío joins Neuquén’s oil fair in October.
Neuquén, the Argentine province that holds most of the Vaca Muerta shale, wants to pave 750 kilometres of Andean roads toward Chile. Its governor signed up Chile’s Biobío region this week to technical work on moving gas and oil west to the Pacific.
What Neuquén took to Concepción
Governor Rolando Figueroa led a delegation of ministers to Concepción, the capital of Chile’s Biobío region, on Thursday. His counterpart Sergio Giacaman hosted, and Chile’s energy minister Ximena Rincón joined the sessions.
The meeting turned June’s joint declarations on energy cooperation into working structures. Technical tables will now address road projects, border control infrastructure, trade facilitation and customs digitalisation.
Three priorities frame the agenda. Short-term gas integration comes first, then Biobío as an export corridor for Argentine gas to Asia, and finally a logistics and industrial services platform.
Figueroa was blunt about the logic. The pipeline to Chile is running at about 10 percent of capacity, he said, so why not fill it.
The 750-kilometre idea
The road plan is the physical backbone of the strategy. Neuquén proposes roughly 750 kilometres of linked routes running parallel to the Andes and to the emblematic Route 40.
The corridor would connect 20 towns and 20 lakes with the international passes to Chile. Three of the province’s passes are paved today, and the government wants three more.
Mamuil Malal’s paving should finish in March, and Hua Hum is scheduled for asphalt from 2028. The strategic prize is Pichachén in the north, where paving also starts in March across more than 200 related kilometres.
Figueroa said work is already advancing on 250 kilometres from the Pichachén border complex. The idea is a route that links Biobío to Neuquén, Río Negro, Buenos Aires and La Pampa.
Why Chile wants the gas, and why Argentina needs the door
Vaca Muerta is one of the world’s largest shale formations, and it now supplies about 70 percent of the country’s oil and gas. The province that owns it is short of export routes, not of resources.
Chile offers the Pacific hardware the province lacks. The Gasoducto del Pacífico already crosses the Andes to Biobío, and deep-water ports like Talcahuano and Coronel face Asia directly.
The oil link reopened first. In December 2025, Chile’s state oil company ENAP signed crude supply contracts with Vaca Muerta operators until June 2033, reviving the idle Transandino pipeline.
For Asian buyers the geography is compelling. Shipping from Chile’s coast to China, Japan or Korea skips both the Panama Canal and the Magellan Strait.
The Pacific push does not replace the Atlantic one. The national government is building the Vaca Muerta Oil Sur pipeline to Punta Colorada on its own coast, and officials describe Chile as a complementary exit.
What still has to happen
The honest summary is that the maps are ahead of the asphalt. Pichachén remains gravel on the Argentine side, and winter snow still closes the high passes for days.
Money is partly in place. A US$250 million loan from CAF, the Latin American development bank, is before the provincial legislature for the northern routes.
Customs integration is the quieter battle. Giacaman said he will press Chile’s customs service so Pichachén can handle international cargo as an integrated border complex.
The next public milestone comes in October. Biobío’s government will attend Neuquén’s oil and gas fair, where the corridor will be sold to the industry itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Vaca Muerta?
Vaca Muerta is a vast shale formation in Argentina’s Neuquén province, one of the largest unconventional oil and gas reserves in the world. It now provides about 70 percent of the country’s oil and gas.
What did Neuquén and Biobío agree in Concepción?
They formed technical working tables on roads, border infrastructure, trade facilitation and customs digitalisation. The goal is moving Argentine hydrocarbons west to Pacific ports and Asian markets.
What is the 750-kilometre road plan?
Neuquén proposes linking about 750 kilometres of routes parallel to the Andes, connecting 20 towns and the border passes to Chile. Paving toward the Pichachén pass is due to start in March.
Does energy already flow west through Chile?
Yes. Since December 2025, Chile’s ENAP has bought Vaca Muerta crude under contracts to 2033 through the revived Transandino pipeline. A gas pipeline to Biobío exists but runs near 10 percent of capacity.
Why ship to Asia from Chile instead of Argentina?
Pacific ports like Talcahuano offer direct routes to China, Japan and Korea without the Panama Canal or Magellan Strait. Neuquén is also closer to Biobío’s ports than to the country’s own Atlantic terminals.
Connected Coverage
We covered the parallel paving push at the Valdivia committee in Neuquén pushes to pave three Argentina-Chile border crossings and the shale build-out in Argentina’s shale boom accelerates. More from the country on our Argentina hub.
Sources: Radio Universidad de Concepción (27 August 2026); Diario 7 Lagos (27 August 2026); LU17 (28 August 2026); Diario Concepción (11 June 2026); Revista Petroquímica; Ámbito Energía.
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