The filling phase of the first section of the President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline (GPNK), which will take the gas from Vaca Muerta, in Neuquén, to the town of Salliqueló, in the province of Buenos Aires.
On Tuesday the loading phase started and the July 9thdate set for the official inauguration of the mega-work.
As explained by the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon“with this first work, Argentina will no longer make significant purchases of LNG, liquefied gas from other parts of the world.”
On July 9, the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline is inaugurated
The Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royón, affirmed that yesterday the filling of the first section of the mega project began and that “on Independence Day we will be celebrating that this gas pipeline is the first step towards achieving the energy independence“.
In this context, he pointed out that in the operation of the gas pipeline “it is YPFthis Pampa Energythis pluspetrolvarious producers”, given that “last year what is called the gas plansupply and demand were combined and that volume was tendered”.
“Several producers won and it is proportional to the volume that they have to be injecting already in full as of July 1”Royon concluded.
He President Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline It is considered the most important work of the last 50 years and was completed in a record period of 10 months. The wrong way crossed four provinces: from the gas treatment plant in Tratayen, located in the heart of Vaca Muerta, passing through Río Negro, La Pampa, to Salliqueló.
According to official estimates, the start-up of the mega-project will make it possible to expand the gas transport capacity and make it reach consumption centers, which will allow a annual savings of US$4.2 billion instead of imports of liquefied natural gas, liquid fuels and electricity.
This semester, it is estimated that it will allow savings of US$2,000 million.
Construction started in October 2022 and demanded an average advance of 5 kilometers per day of pipe welding, counting the three work fronts.
Total 47,700 pipes of 12 meters long and 36 inches in diameter were laid, in the 573 kilometers of extension of the GPNK between Tratayén and Salliqueló, crossing the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, La Pampa and Buenos Aires.
Schedule of the filling process of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline
The gas pipeline loading process responds to usual procedures in this type of system, which involves phases of swept and pressurization of the pipes progressively.
Schedule of qualifications and start-up of the first section:
- June 20: authorization and commissioning of EMED Tratayén and authorization of kilometer 0 to 29.
- June 25: authorization from kilometer 29 to 61.
- June 27: authorization from kilometer 61 to 89.
- June 29: authorization of kilometer 89 to 145.
- July 4: authorization from kilometer 145 to 285.
- July 08: authorization of kilometer 285 to 570.
What is the second section of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline?
He The second section of the gas pipeline will link the Buenos Aires town of Saliqueló with the Santa Fe town of San Jerónimo Sur, with an extension of 470 kilometers. Thus, although the project inaugurates its first stage on July 9, the more than 50,000 remaining pipes that make up the total work still need to be welded.
In this sense, he stressed that this work will allow Argentina not to be tied to the variation of international prices when it comes to securing your energy supply and also, In the first instance, it will allow the surplus gas to be exported to neighboring countries.
“The energy sector is going to consolidate as the second sector that generates foreign currency for our country”he remarked.
Source: Ambito
