TGS Says Vaca Muerta Treatment Plant Ready by April
Construction work related to Transportadora de Gas del Sur’s Tratayen natural gas treatment plant has reached the 80% mark, Neuquen province natural resources and energy minister Alejandro Monteiro said February 28. The plant, which will process Vaca Muerta shale gas, is expected to be operational by the end of April.
Located in Anelo, the plant will have initial and maximum processing capacities of 5mn m3/day and around 60mn m3/day, respectively, and will receive gas from two pipelines coming from the northern and southern regions of the Neuquen province.
The 115-km Vaca Muerta north gas pipeline, which will have capacity to transport 37mn m3/day, is 50% complete. The shorter 32-km Vaca Muerta south gas pipeline, which will have capacity to transport 19mn m3/day, is 80% complete, Monteiro said.
Investments in the initial stages of the contruction process related to the treatment plant and both gas pipelines are estimated to exceed $250mn. TGS, the principal gas transport company in Argentina, anticipates total investments could reach $800mn.
“We anticipate the plant will start operating in April along with the first section of the pipeline,” TGS CEO Javier Gremes Cordero said. “The estimated finish date for the second section is in November of this year.”