Vaca Muerta: Developments, details and interests of the most important energy infrastructure projects of the last 40 years

Sacharamenti, La Pampa.- There is an atmosphere of euphoria around this small town in the Pampas, 191 kilometers from Santa Rosa, the capital of the province. In just two months, According to official sources, the government will be able to open the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline despite all adverse forecasts.. This will provide relief to the Central Bank of India’s (BCRA) affected reserves as, once operational, it will allow a portion of gas imports to be replaced by national production. dead cow.

Gas Pipeline Construction, The The largest energy infrastructure project in the last 40 years It will be one of the good traditions from management Alberto Fernandez. Opposition parties have criticized him for taking four years to do so, despite Ying’s government Maurizio Macri A call for bids was issued (which would be called Neupa II after Neuquen-Buenos Aires). The government revoked the decision within days of taking office in December 2019. The plan was pushed back to 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up international gas prices.

Despite this delay, 10 months after the gas pipeline was awarded, work has reached its final stage in record time. Nation I traveled to the town along with other media on National Route 143 – the “Desert Route” – to see the progress of construction and the arrival of the last trucks of 12-meter-long 36-inch (91 cm diameter) pipes. and 3250 kg, It will transport 11 million cubic meters per day (m3/d) of gas from June end.

It will be a convertible amount in imports this year. According to official estimates, The gas pipeline will save USD 2.2 billion in foreign currency outflows by 2023Taking as a reference the average price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and other liquid fuels, US$18 per million BTU (the English measure used in the industry).

From next year, compressors will also be installed, which will allow The same 580-km pipeline carries twice as much gas, 22 million m3/d. The entire construction of the pipeline will cost 2.7 billion US dollars and will be financed from public funds. In the coming months, the government will put out a tender to extend the second section of the gas pipeline to San Geronimo, Santa Fe, and reach northern Argentina with national gas.

To lay the pipeline in 11 months, while the original plan was two years, Several factors played in favorExplained by the managers of the companies Techint and Sacde, it formed a transitory union of companies (UTE) and delivered three of the four sections of the pipeline.

First, no external problems occurred that could delay construction Constraints on pipeline time. Although initially worried about the role The original communities that occupied the land indicated that the New Guinea government moved quickly At the beginning of the project and includes requests.

Owners of 150,000 hectares through the gas pipeline also have no major problems. There was only one obstacle, but Justice quickly intervened so that the land could be entered. When was At least five landowners who exploit tourism hunting wild boar, deer and buffalo said they could not enter their property in February and May., when is high season. “The case was continued and we entered with the gendarmerie,” they told UTE.

drought, Unlike what happened at the country level, in this case Played in support The progress of the gas pipeline allowed to work practically without rain from the beginning of the construction.

About 3000 workers are involved in this work And they complete an average work shift of 11 hours, seven days a week from 7am to 6pm. After 25 days, they have five days off. Night missions are also available to carry out special excavation and hydraulic testing work. As part of the workforce, There are also archaeologists, anthropologists and archeologists who have the function of uncovering clues..

45 Turkish workers also arrived in the country, specializes in automated welding technology. One of them Iskender UkhmasHe came from a family Pipeliners (Bibleer) and worked on gas pipelines in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Mexico. In the latter country, he participated in a Techint project and stayed in touch with the company. Turkish employees speak English and, in addition to doing their jobs, train Argentine workers to learn how to use the machines for future projects.

Flags of various countries involved in the construction of the gas pipeline fly at the camp, where 700 people have been set up in containers. Apart from Turkey and Argentina, you can find them Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Spain, Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.

“For a long time, this scale of work has not been carried out in Argentina, and now a lot is being done together between the expansion of the gas pipeline and the oil pipeline. That’s why special people are not available. For example, the Spaniards are experts in using ultrasound to check that pipes are well welded”, while Alejandro Cardone and Ricardo Usner are responsible for the project on behalf of Tekind and Sagte respectively.

In addition to having different nationalities, There are workers from all over the country. The number of long-term residents of the camp required the hiring of three catering companies from different provinces (San Juan, Santa Cruz and Neuquen).

Labor intensity was linked to investment in technology. Techint and Sacde decided to bring the joint venture to the country for the first time Automated welding robots. A total of 14 machines were hired and welded the pipe at a speed of 4.5 km per day. “This is an important aspect of speeding up gas pipeline time because it increases the quality, repeatability and speed of the Soldier’s maneuvers,” said Pablo Protier, executive director of Sagday, who visited Houston. Equipment.

“In turn, Allows an average of 30 kilometers of welded pipe to be laid in the trench per week. Last week was 37 kilometers, which shows the learning curve after several months,” says Tekind Director Gustavo Gallino.

Despite the exchange restrictions, UTE was able to import equipment without any problems to enable acquisition of the latest technology. “Customs, Central Bank and Enarsa cooperated at all times to clear the bottlenecks we found in the import process.”, said Damian Mindlin, President and CEO of Sacde.

Agustin Geres, president of Enarsa, the government agency responsible for overseeing and operating the gas pipeline. It was again promised to open on June 20, when the valve opens to fill the pipeline.. On that day, tenders will be called for construction of the second section.

In the next few days, on the other hand, the TENDER FOR REHABILITATION OF NORTH GAS PIPELINE, Change the sense of direction and gas from Vaca Muerte could be transported to the north of Argentina from next February.