Page 13 - LatAmOil Week 47 2021

LatAmOil ARGENTINA LatAmOil

The Trans-Andean Pipeline has a capacity of 100,000 bpd (File Photo)

Neuquen governor sees Trans-Andean

Pipeline resuming operations next year

OMAR Gutierrez, the governor of Argentina’s Nevertheless, Argentina is set to see produc-
Neuquen Province, announced last week that tion increase again, owing to the development
the Trans-Andean Pipeline will resume opera- of the Vaca Muerta shale formation, which con-
tions in 2022. tains large volumes of unconventional oil and
The pipeline, which is capable of pumping gas. Officials in Buenos Aires are looking for
100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from new international markets to sell the country’s
Neuquen to Chile, has been refurbished after crude oil, and they see the Trans-Andean Pipe-
remaining idle for 16 years. The two sides have line as an ideal outlet because of its geographical
been holding serious discussions on proposals location, which offers easier access to the Asian
for refurbishment of the pipeline for several market than the South Atlantic Ocean.
years, but they finally reached a deal on January Gutierrez pointed out last week that crude
26 of this year. production was anticipated to rise in Neuquen
Argentina’s national oil company (NOC) from its current volume of 214,000 bpd to
YPF and its Chilean counterpart ENAP built 235,000 bpd once the pipeline is up and run-
the Trans-Andean Pipeline in the early 1990s ning. The province is expected to pump 285,288
and began operating it in 1994 with the aim of bpd in 2022, he said.
supplying the Bio Bio oil refinery in Chile with Sergio Affronti, the CEO of YPF, said his
feedstock from oilfields in Neuquen Province. company hoped to become a net exporter of
The pipeline served as a key export outlet, as crude by mid-2023 as a result of projected
Argentina’s crude production rose to a peak of increases in production. “Our goal is to become
840,000 bpd in the late 1990s, nearly twice the an oil-exporting company by mid-2023. We
2020 figure of 450,000 bpd. However, it became want to be self-sufficient and start exporting,” he
less important as the country’s production levels explained to reporters during a recent meeting
declined. with the press. ™

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