This week, the Argentine government is offering a tender to modify one of the largest imported gas pipelines, to be able to exploit the “Vaca Muerta” gas field, which is the owner of the second largest reserves of shale gas in the world.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said that diverting the huge gas pipeline would save imports worth $2 billion annually, according to Reuters.
And in September 2022, the local oil pipeline operator, Olliodcos del Valle (Oldelval), announced that it would pump $750 million in new investments to support transmission capacity from the Vaca Muerta gas field in Argentina.
The Ministry of Energy said – at the time – that Oldeval aims to increase the capacity of the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline for shale gas, to 72 thousand cubic meters per day, compared to 36 thousand cubic meters within two years from now.
The project requires laying another 525 kilometers (326 miles) of pipelines, and will contribute to creating 1,200 jobs, according to the specialized energy platform.
The largest gas fields in Argentina
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said that the government will issue a tender to reverse one of the largest gas pipelines, to transport the production of the Vaca Muerta field in Argentina, and to connect it to the northern and central regions of the country.
Vaca Muerta is the largest shale gas field in the west of the South American country, and the government believes that expanding the transportation of its gas throughout the country reduces the need for imports at high prices.
The competing companies and the winning bidders enter the works to reverse the direction of the gas pipeline, to carry the production of the Vaca Muerta field instead of transporting imported gas, according to what was monitored by the specialized energy platform.
It is expected that the work to divert the direction of the gas pipeline in the north of the country will be completed next year (2024), saving about two billion US dollars in the value of energy imports annually.
It is assumed that the production of the Vaca Muerta gas field will replace the gas imported from Bolivia, in some areas to which the pipeline is being modified in northern Argentina, whose production has been stalling in the recent period.
-Ambitions to join the energy exporters
In April 2022, the American company Chevron obtained an exploitation license for a trial phase in the Vaca Muerta shale field, with an investment of $78.7 million.
-Under the license obtained by the American company Chevron, it becomes the operator and owner of the “El Trabale Este” oil block, which has an area of 282.8 square kilometers.
“The diversion of one of the largest gas pipelines, to transport the production of the Vaca Muerta field, makes us able to think of our country becoming an energy exporter,” said Argentine Minister of Economy Sergio Massa.
He added that the project will support the mining sector and the northern regions with supplies that are about 6 times less expensive than the current ones, according to statements seen by the specialized energy platform.
The Latin state is looking forward to a jump in the production of the Vaca Muerta field, which analysts expect to enhance the country’s ability to overcome its long-term energy deficit.
The development of the production of the Vaca Muerta field in Argentina, and the increase in its production and transportation by diverting the direction of gas pipelines, was mainly driven by the country’s shrinking foreign exchange reserves in the central bank, which led to high inflation rates and a decline in economic growth.
The pipeline’s main diversion point, which extends from the field to Buenos Aires province, is expected to be completed within 40 days, while it will reach Santa Fe province in 2024.
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