Ambitious gas pipeline project proposes energy integration through the Paraguayan Chaco

This MOPC release was published using machine translation.

Lawyer Mauricio Bejarano, Vice Minister of Mines and Energy, highlighted that the gas pipeline project proposed by the National Government to bring natural gas from Vaca Muerta, Argentina, to Brazil, will mean a crucial step towards regional energy integration, in addition to considerable benefits for the Chaco and all of Paraguay.

He explained that the idea began due to the stage of reversal that northern Argentina is in, since it is supplied with gas from Bolivia, whose production is in decline, but mainly because of the advantage offered by the Bioceánica route. “We have made a route next to the Bioceanic route that crosses the Paraguayan Chaco, which is clearly better in terms of distance and other factors than any other gas pipeline project that Argentina and Brazil are evaluating directly,” he stated.

The vice minister maintained that the intention is to create a trinational venture, which unites the production of natural gas from Vaca Muerta with Brazilian consumption and, of course, with the possibility that Paraguay can use an energy source that it does not currently have within its matrix. “So, the possibility that we would have of using that would give us very competitive advantages for the industry, even for the generation of alternative base electrical energy, such as solar photovoltaics, which is what we plan to implement in a very short time,” he asserted.

Regarding the facilities offered by the Bioceánica route, he added that the route is done, has a strip of domain already cleared and has no environmental, geographic or community problems.

“Paraguay promotes this project for two fundamental reasons, the essential one for our country is to benefit minimally with a fee and a billion-dollar investment. Aside from that, we will have the possibility of pouring natural gas molecules in the case of commercial discovery by our concessionaires, with a market already open,” he specified.

Idle capacity to take advantage of

On the other hand, Bejarano mentioned the possibility of making this gas pipeline with a few inches enough to have idleness at the beginning "in order to allow this new network to be poured and, or in case of Paraguayan demand, more natural gas from Vaca Muerta and "That we Paraguayans can take advantage of that energy."

He said that the initiative gained a lot of strength from the visits made to representatives of the public and private sectors, in Argentina and Brazil, who have shown interest and looked very favorably on the initiative.

“We want to give it the greatest possible strength, that this take a trinational treatment of energy integration, and that we can quickly promote all this that involves billion-dollar investments, but taking into account the volume that it would move, it would have a very easy repayment to whoever invests in that gas pipeline, without forgetting the economic impact that the payment of royalties will mean for Paraguay,” he concluded.

Layout

It should be mentioned that the gas pipeline proposal contemplates a route of 1,050 kilometers that would cover 110 kilometers in Argentine territory, 530 kilometers in Paraguay and 410 kilometers in Brazil, with a transport capacity of more than 30 million cubic meters per day. Our country not only seeks to satisfy the Brazilian demand for gas, but also projects an increase in domestic demand, especially for electricity generation and industrial supply, in a context where a renaissance in energy demand is seen in the region.