The Government will launch this week the tender for the second section of the Nestor Kirchner pipeline. The difference with the first stage will consist in the fact that the interested parties must contribute the financing in dollars. The announcement comes after the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massaset a date for the inauguration of the reversal works of the northern gas pipeline for May 14, 2024. The expansion of the infrastructure will allow the country to reach 7 other northern provinces with Vaca Muerta gas and export to Brazil and Chile .
This week the state company Energía Argentina, headed by Agustín Gerez, will launch the first tender for Stage II of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline. What the Government inaugurated last July was the first section, of 573 kilometers, which goes from Tratayen, in Neuquén, to Salliqueló, in the province of Buenos Aires, which allows Vaca Muerta gas to be brought to large urban centers. The second stage will be 467 kilometers long and will go from Salliqueló to San Jerónimo, in Santa Fe.
The tender that will be known this week will be to summon the companies to provide the sheet metal and pipes for the gas pipeline. Then there will be a second stage of the bidding for the call for construction, as happened with the first stretch. According to official sources, it is expected that the The work ends at the end of 2024 and has a cost of US$3.00 million.
In this case, the companies interested in the tender must add the financing. At the moment, the Secretary of Energy, headed by Flavia Royón, had specific inquiries from three interested parties for the production of 36-inch tubes.
Last week, when Massa was in Brazil, the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) confirmed that could finance Techint-Usiminas for US$400 million over ten years, the alliance of the Argentine steel giant and Brazil, in its presentation to the tender. They were informed of this in the meeting that the Argentine entourage held with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Brazil’s interest lies in the possibility of accessing the energy produced in Vaca Muerta, at a lower cost than what is currently imported, in the industrial cities of the south of the country. For this, the gas could be supplied when the work of the Reversal del Norte is completed, and the use of the infrastructure is agreed with Bolivia. Or in such a case, new works should be carried out between Uruguayana or Montevideo and Porto Alegre.
In addition, Energía received interest from companies from other countries. On the one hand, during Massa’s tour of China, the energy giant Power China stated that it will seek to join the tender. A Saudi company did it along the same lines, which could count on financing from Eximbank.
Northern Reversal
The tender for the second section of the gas pipeline comes less than 15 days after the tender for the section called Reversal del Norte was launched. The official schedule indicates that offers will be received on September 29 and contracts will be signed on October 16, so that works begin in November.
Last Friday, on the industry day of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), Massa was encouraged to do the same thing he did with the first section of the gas pipeline: set a completion date. Before industrialists, he anticipated that It will be ready by May 14., “govern whoever governs”. According to the candidate for president of Unión por la Patria, the work will allow the northern provinces to access “cheaper energy”, which today costs US$12 to import from Bolivia, and in Vaca Muerta US$3 is paid .5, which will give the industry “greater competitiveness”. It is also that from Bolivia they already anticipated that they will need to finalize before the energy supply contract, which expired in 2026. From 2024 the firm provision may not be guaranteed.
Source: Ambito
