Officials of the national government, of the province of Cordova and the businessmen in charge of the Reversal of the Northern Gasduct inaugurated the works of the Tío Pujio-La Carlota Federal Integration Gasduct, which connects the Central Gasduct with the Northern Gasduct, and which is already injecting gas from Dead Cow towards the north of the country.
“This work carried out by Energía Argentina (Enarsa SA) makes it possible to reverse the direction of the gas flow, managing to transport up to 15 million m3 of gas to cover the demand of the central and northern region and replace the gas that had been imported from Bolivia” , stood out from the Nation.
What is the Reversal of the Northern Gas Pipeline for?
With this public work, the only one tendered by the government of Javier Milei, but started during the previous administration, Argentina will save foreign currency for US$1,000 million to US$2,000 million annually by not having to import energy for internal supply or thermal generationlike the imports of gas or LNG and liquid fuels (diesel and fuel oil).
But gas will also be reached in Córdoba, Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, Catamarca, La Rioja and Tucumán and the development of new industrial activities such as lithium mining. And in a second stage, with the Northern Reversal national gas may be exported to other countries in the region, such as Bolivia and Brazil.
How much did the Northern Gas Pipeline Reversal cost?
The work represented an investment of US$740 million, of which US$540 million was financed by a loan from the CAF.
Among the main tasks, the Reversion included the construction of a 122.8 kilometer gas pipeline of 36 inches in diameter between La Carlota and Tío Pujio to connect the Central-West and North Gas Pipelines, and two extensions (loops) between Tío Pujio and Ferreira 64 kilometers, with 30-inch diameter pipes.
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The work will be completed with the automation of four existing compressor plants (Lumbrera, Lavalle, Dean Funes and Ferreyra), which will be carried out in the first half of 2025.
Who was present at the inauguration?
The opening ceremony in the Corbesa town of La Carlota was attended by the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos; the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo; the governor of Córdoba, Martin Llaryora; the deputy head of the Interior Cabinet, Lisandro Catalán; the Secretary of Energy and Mining Coordination, Daniel Gonzalezand the new Ministry of Energy, María del Carmen Tattamanti.
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In addition, the national representative for Córdoba was present, Gabriel Bornoroni, linked to the energy sector due to his role as a service station entrepreneur in that province.
On the business side, there were the CEO of the company Sacde, Damián Mindlinthe president of Pampa Energía, Marcelo Mindlin, Techint’s Director of Operations, Alejo Calcagnoamong other managers, such as the members of Enarsa.
What did the officials and businessmen say at the opening ceremony?
One of those who spoke was Guillermo Francos. “Argentina chose where to invest 740 million dollars so that it would revert to more wealth. With safe, non-intermittent gas, a well-being will be generated that until now we did not have. We are going to use our gas, at a third of the value that we used until now to import. “We have come to celebrate a work of this magnitude, which the Milei government began and finished in record time.”said the Chief of Staff.
Caputo highlighted that from the Ministry of Economy “we work together with private companies to unblock the first section of the work that was not awarded and the other two sections that had not even been tendered. We are going to recover the energy self-sufficiency that was destroyed by the previous management.”
The governor of Córdoba, Martín Llaryora assured that although gas pipeline was inaugurated from Córdoba, it represents a lot for all Argentines. “It will allow the people of Córdoba to first guarantee a lower price for our industries, to get out of the intermittency sometimes in those situations that we had, and also to get out of something that we all know, Bolivia, is no longer going to be in a couple of years maybe a reliable supplier, but Bolivia is lowering its gas production capacity, with which we can go from being an importer to an exporter not only with Bolivia, but with Brazil.”he expressed.
Reversal of the North Gasduct
Damian Mindlinpresident of Sacde and representative of the UTE with Techint, considered a day that is a historic inauguration. “We put an end to a meaningless event. Argentina imported 20 billion dollars of Bolivian gas in the last 20 years, when we could supply the north with gas from Vaca Muerta, with Argentine labor, with investments in our country and without wasting foreign currency. The energy sector needs and requires more projects like this to reach its maximum potential, which allows it to export its energy to the world and contribute to the economic growth of the country,” said the businessman.
Finally, Daniel Gonzalez He launched a reflection on the importance of the work. “Argentina is seeing how the enormous potential of Vaca Muerta can reach not only Córdoba, but also northern provinces, replacing energy that we no longer had because, unfortunately, the northwest basin was weakening. Through this work, 10% of the gas generated by Argentina will be transported and thanks to this gas pipeline we have gas and electrical energy for many years.”he explained.
Source: Ambito
