The government of Argentina has approved the construction of a 600 km pipeline, linking the cities of Tratayén, in the province of Neuquén, and Salliqueló, in the Buenos Aires province.
The project could be developed by a private operator, Transportadora de Gas del Sud (TGS), if they win in the bidding process, which is to take place in the next few days, marking a rare participation of private capitals in the development of the giant Vaca Muerta shale gas project, currently led by the government.
With 600 km in length and 36 inches of diameter, the pipeline will require an estimated 250,000 mt of steel plates for its construction, with costs estimated at $500 million, including the supply of six compressors at four plants.
Once completed, this project will add 14 million cubic meters of gas transportation capacity per day to the existing 21 million cubic meters.
TGS has also asked for another $200 million investment in a second phase to build a 20 km pipeline and more compression capacity in an area already under concession.