Gas pipeline: the president of Enarsa assured that it will be ready before winter

The inauguration date of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline – which will allow greater supply of domestic demand with Vaca Muerta gas – is essential for the government because it will reduce the need for energy imports during the winter.

More than six months after the start of the construction of the gas pipeline President Néstor Kirchner, and with four months remaining before its completion, from Energía Argentina (the former Enarsa) they detailed the progress of the works by the state company, the contractors -Techint and Sacde- and the various departments of the National State and the provinces concerned.

According to a press release from Energía Argentina, the work is proceeding on schedule. “In this sense, on the entire route, the work is progressing according to what was planned and planned, so that the President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline is closer to being a reality every day”, they indicated.

“Thanks to the great effort of all parties involved, especially the workers carrying out these works, we are respecting the ambitious schedule we have set ourselves and if there are no unforeseen events, we will be able to meet the objective that we have set ourselves and to put the President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline into service before the start of next winter”, he explained. Augustin GerezPresident of Energía Argentina.

“This work is essential for the future of our country, as it enables import substitution through greater production of Vaca Muerta gas,” he added.

According to information from Energía Argentina, President Néstor Kirchner’s gas pipeline is being built simultaneously on all its fronts and incorporates the most modern technology to reduce working times, such as automatic welders, which are being used for the first time in our country and allow approximately 2,000 meters of welding per day; and double seam welding installations, which allow two 12-meter pipes – the size they arrive from the factory – to be welded together to form a single 24-meter piece.

Parry tasks are performed in all sections (placing pipes next to the trace), trenches, lowering pipes and covering. This way all build instances are running. The first stage of the President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline extends from the city of Neuquén de Tratayén to Salliqueló, in the province of Buenos Aires, crossing Río Negro and La Pampa, with an extension of 573 kilometers.

During 2022, the war in Ukraine has had a strong impact on the international price of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels that inject gas during peak demand in the winter months.

For 2023, the government had originally budgeted USD 3,465 million for imports, at a value of USD 55 per million BTU (the unit of the sector). However, due to current price volatility, the Department of Energy was able to anticipate the tendering of 30 LNG carriers at a price of US$20.8 per million BTU.

“In this way, the 3,465 million dollars that Argentina was going to spend are reduced to 1,313 million dollars, generating, on the one hand, an outflow of foreign currency for Argentina of more than 2,100 million dollars, and on the other hand, a savings tax of over $500,000 million,” sources from the Ministry of Economy explained. The government is convinced that from July this year, the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline will be completed and will allow more savings to be made in LNG imports.

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