Argentina roundup: Oil pipeline, gas exports, block deal and more

Midstream work

Argentine midstream operator Oldelval has finished oil pipeline welding work as part of its 50,000m3/d (315,000b/d) Duplicar expansion project.

The company has now laid 525km of pipe, which will boost dispatch between the Neuquén basin and export facilities in Puerto Rosales, Buenos Aires province. 

Next phases involve installation of valves and carrying out civil works and hydraulic testing.

Duplicar will ramp up oil dispatch capacity between the basin and the Atlantic coast to 86,000m3/d from 36,000m3/d currently. Capacity is expected to climb by the end of year.

Argentina also exports oil over the Andes to Chile via the Otasa link, which can carry up to 110,000b/d.

In parallel, Argentine state-controlled oil firm YPF is carrying out a pipeline project – Vaca Muerta Sur – to dispatch Neuquén basin oil via a future terminal in Río Negro province.

Argentine producers are ramping up production, with the export market squarely in their crosshairs.

Under the country’s framework economic reform law, known locally as Ley Bases, hydrocarbons export restrictions are eased. The industry is awaiting secondary legislation that will guide its implementation and that of an associated investment incentives regime, known as Rigi. 

CREDIT: YPF. VMS = Vaca Muerta Sur; OTASA + VMN = Otasa export duct to Chile plus the Vaca Muerta Norte feeder pipeline; PROC REF LC & PH = processing level at the Luján de Cuyo and Plaza Huincul refineries; OLDELVAL = Oldelval infrastructure. Figures in KBBL/D.  

Gas exports

Argentina’s federal energy department published three natural gas export authorization requests last month, down from six in June.

Two of July’s requests are for dispatches to Brazil, which would be transported via Bolivian gas infrastructure. 

This takes the tally of this type of authorization published to four.

Argentina gas export authorization requests in July

Seller: Total Austral
Buyer: Matrix Energy Participacoes (Brazil)
Maximum quantity: 1.0Mm3/d (interruptible basis) from San Roque, Aguada Pichana Este and Rincón La Ceniza (Neuquén basin)
Dates: August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025

Seller: Total Austral
Buyer: Matrix Energy Participacoes (Brazil)
Maximum quantity: 1.0Mm3/d (interruptible basis) from the CMA-1 offshore concession (Austral basin)
Dates: August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025

Seller: Tecpetrol
Buyer: GasValpo (Chile)
Maximum quantity: 100,000m3/d (firm basis)
Dates: January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025

Like oil drillers, gas producers are awaiting Ley Bases’ secondary legislation, which is expected to contain specific rules for the natural gas sector.

Completion of the Gasoducto Norte flow-reversal project, expected this quarter, will permit the export of Neuquén basin gas to Brazil via Bolivia, and to northern Chile.

Argentine gas exports climbed 83% year-on-year in July to 5.25Mm3/d, as dispatches to Chile rose 95% to 4.93Mm3/d, according to data from gas regulator Enargas.

The bulk of gas – 4.30Mm3/d – was sent through the GasAndes duct, linking the Neuquén basin to Chile’s Santiago metropolitan region.

Exports should start trending up this quarter, as domestic demand slackens in Argentina, which is also working to build an LNG exporting industry.

New role for former hydrocarbons chief

Former Argentine hydrocarbons chief Juan José Carbajales was named director of Universidad de Buenos Aires’ oil and gas institute, known as IGPUBA.

A lawyer and political scientist who led the federal hydrocarbons division in 2019-20 and helped design gas production incentives regime Plan Gas, Carbajales is also director of local energy consultancy Paspartú.

IGPUBA was established in 1929, playing a role in the development of the hydrocarbons sector via the training of local and international industry professionals. 

Focus areas include shale oil and gas, LNG and carbon capture. 

YPF block deal

Independent driller Quintana Energy has acquired Río Negro province hydrocarbons block Estación Fernández.

The deal falls under the banner of YPF’s divestment initiative Proyecto Andes.

In addition, YPF said in a statement, a consortium formed by Quintana and TSB inked an agreement for the Mendoza Sur batch of blocks on offer.

YPF has to date signed eight agreements, corresponding to 22 conventional areas in Río Negro, Neuquén, Mendoza and Chubut provinces.

The company wants to complete the process, involving around 50 areas, by the end of the year.

Provincial authorities need to greenlight the acreage transfers.