The Néstor Kirchner Gasduct operates, at the whim of the libertarian government of Javier Milei, at half capacity and an additional 500 million dollars must be disbursed to cover peak consumption. The Néstor Kirchner Gasduct currently transports 11 million cubic meters of gas per day (m3/d), but if the Compressor plants ofTrayén, Salliqueló and Mercedes were in operation, the capacity would have already been expanded to 22 million. The responsibility for the delay is the responsibility of the national government since if it had released the funds when appropriate, the plants would have been completed and the gas transportation capacity from Vaca Muerta would have doubled.
The responsibility for the delay is the responsibility of the national government since if it had released the funds when appropriate, the plants would have been completed and the gas transportation capacity from Vaca Muerta would have doubled.
The delay is mainly explained because during the first months of the government, Enarsa stopped paying the construction companies that are in charge of the works. In fact, he owes Sacde $30 million and Contreras $10 million, forcing both companies to work below capacity. If the state company had paid in a timely manner, both projects would already be completed. The debt carried by the national government reaches 40 million dollars, but the decision not to pay now forces it to disburse 500 million, when with the gas pipeline at full capacity it could have needed to import, but for less than half of that value.
The national government maintains a debt of 40 million with the construction companies Sacde and Contreras, which prevented the completion of the plants for this winter.. Now, however, it must import emergency liquid fuels for 500 million to address the gas shortage, highlights a note from the specialized media. Econojournal. Cammesa was forced on Monday to urgently put out to tender the purchase of 12 shipments of fuel oil and diesel to face the increased gas consumption caused by the cold wave.
This shortfall could have been covered at least partially if the government had completed the construction of the compressor plants for the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline. However, the brake on public works delayed the works and now an additional 500 million dollars will have to be disbursed in June to meet the increased demand.
“The unfortunate thing is that Argentina has plenty of gas but lacks investments. The gas is underground, we do not have the infrastructure to store it and so it is impossible to produce the gas we need for the winter. All the gas potential we have is suspended. As a result of this lack of investment, we find ourselves in the situation of having to import gas,” he told The uncovering the Treasurer of the Argentine Federation of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Unions (FASiPeGyBio), Gabriel Matarazzo.
Matarazzo explained that “the lack of infrastructure is a serious problem, which in some winters becomes more serious.” “That is why it is key to insist on projects such as the NK Gasduct or the LNG megaproject that YPF is promoting. The latter has enormous potential if it is executed correctly in the ports of Bahía Blanca, one of the few points in the country where there is that infrastructure necessary to store the gas, in addition to its logistical and environmental advantages,” he added.
TheTrayén compressor plant, run by Sacde, could come into operation in mid-June, which would allow an additional 5 million m3 per day to be injected into the system, which would represent a saving of up to 350 million dollars per year in substitution of liquid fuels. and LNG import. The Salliqueló plant, which Contreras is building, will hopefully be ready in September, while the Mercedes plant is even more delayed, not only due to official responsibility but also due to delays on the part of the construction company Esuco, in charge of the construction site. The paradoxical thing in this last case is that Esuco was also awarded the construction of the compressor plants for the Northern Gas Pipeline.
