“This is a strategic project that will increase the production evacuation capacity of the operators of this basin. Currently, that capacity is saturated, in a situation very similar to what we inherited with the licensed natural gas transportation system. In this case, the response of the national government was the construction of the President Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline.” evaluated Bernal.
For his part, Ricardo Rodriguez, explained that the new pipeline “It will connect Vaca Muerta with the OLDELVAL trunk and its Duplicatar Plus project, and it will reinforce the basin’s export routes (OLDELVAL – OTASA), providing a transportation capacity of 125,000 bpd.”
Likewise, Rodríguez highlighted that it is the “first private investment by an operator in the construction of a midstream pipeline in Vaca Muerta, and the first investment by Shell Argentina in midstream in 108 years in the country.”
The consortium in charge of the “Sierras Blancas/Allen Pipeline” project is made up of 60% of Shell, as the winning bidder and leader, and accompanied by the participation of PAE (25%) and Pluspetrol (15%); while the construction was in charge of Techint-SIMA and the operation will be in charge of Oldelval.
In line with the objectives of promoting local value added through the hydrocarbons industry, more than 50 contractors and suppliers were involved during its construction, mostly of national and regional origin.
In addition, Bernal and the authorities of Shell Argentina also discussed the status of progress regarding the request made by the company within the framework of Decree 929.
Shell has been carrying out operations in the province of Neuquén for a decade, with a focus on Vaca Muerta. At the meeting, the highest authority of the oil company informed Bernal that the company has invested more than 2,000 million dollars there and that, in 2022 alone, it invested 500 million dollars in the development of training resources.
So far, the results of this investment position it as the first private producer of unconventional oil in the Neuquén Basin, with an average production of 45,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). In particular, in Sierras Blancas Shell has an installed processing capacity of 42,000 bpd and generates more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Regarding investments in hydrocarbons and infrastructure projects, Bernal considered: “Now the Argentine Republic is really experiencing a rain of investments. For this 2023 we expect investments on a national scale in exploration and exploitation for 9,500 million dollars. This implies a year-on-year jump of 20%, it is 36% more than in 2019 and the highest figure since 2015”.
Finally, regarding Shell’s participation in this growth process, he said: “We are pleased that Shell is part of this interest and commitment, which, as the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, repeatedly pointed out, is the logical response of the stakeholders of the sector to a credible and sustainable economic development program, where the articulation between the National State and the private sector provides the necessary and sufficient conditions to make the transformation of our productive matrix a reality”.
Source: Ambito
