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The Secretary of Energy, Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillo, arrived after 1 p.m. at the Libertador hotel in downtown, where more than 100 leaders of energy companies were waiting for him on the first floor, to participate in the traditional Petroleum Club lunch. “He said we should be prepared, because it comes with a presentation of 120 films,” warned one of the oil executives.
For almost an hour and forty minutes, the secretary took stock of his management and announced the tender for the second section of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline (GNK II)which will allow doubling the gas transportation capacity to 40 million cubic meters per day (m3/d) from Vaca Muerta to the Litoral.
The objective of the economic team is to have the work awarded in December to to enter into operation in March 2026. Unlike the previous construction, which was done with public financing, this time it would be done with private capital and will require an investment of US$2,554 millionaccording to initial projections.
In principle, An international tender will be held in which companies from abroad, such as Pumpco, may participate.the subsidiary of MasTec, whose founder is Jorge Mas, also owner of Inter Miami, who participated in previous tenders directly in the country without success.
In turn, the award would be made to a single builder, which may subcontract the works and must obtain financing through a pool of banks. The company may use the contracts signed with gas producers for transportation capacity as payment guarantee.
The biggest news is the confirmation that Energía Argentina (Enarsa), the oil company founded by Néstor Kirchner in 2004, will later be renamed Transportadora del Gas del Centro (TGC) and will take charge of the operation of the two Néstor Kirchner gas pipelines: the one already built and the one that will be tendered soon.
“There is an original layout for the second section, but in the tender we are going to allow the contractor to propose another layout, if he believes it is more convenient. This tender is divided into several stages. There is the construction stage, that of contracting transport capacity and signing contractsand the stage in which an independent transport company will be formed, which will take charge of the GNK I and GNK II,” explained Rodríguez Chirillo.
In turn, the contracting company will receive an annual fee, the payment of which will be guaranteed by the constitution of a fund that will be created –Construction Repayment Fund (FRC)-, which will be nourished by income from the expansion of the TGC’s transportation capacity and from the sales of gas producers. The estimated fee is US$480 million per year for 15 years, with a rate of 10% after taxesalthough the final value will be defined in the tender (whoever presents a lower value of the annual fee will be awarded).
“There is a first stage where the tender for the construction of the first section is made and the fee that must be paid is determined. In parallel, although it is called stage two, but it goes in parallel, is the bidding for firm transportation capacity, plus the execution of gas supply contracts, by those who are interested. With this we are going to structure a fund to repay the fee for the construction of the tender,” said the Secretary of Energy, while the executives present took detailed photos of the film that was projected.
“Subsequently, and while it develops, the independent carrier will be created, which In short, it means making a spin-off of assets that belong to Enarsa and that later they can be privatized in a percentage to the private sector,” Rodríguez Chirillo added.
The Secretary of Energy also provided details about the multiple options being analyzed to export gas to neighboring countries. In fact, he confirmed that it is close to being signed a memorandum of understanding Argentina – Brazil, with the objective of creating a bilateral working group on the “Development of Infrastructure and Natural Gas Exports” between both countries. The alternatives that are on the table are to export gas through Bolivia, Paraguay or Uruguay.
