TGS Awarded the Expansion Works for the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline
tgs has been awarded the national and international tender called by ENARSA to carry out the expansion of the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline (GPM), which will increase transportation capacity by 14 million cubic meters per day (MMm³/d), from Tratayén to Salliqueló.
The project involves an investment of more than USD 560 million, which will allow for the replacement of gas imports during the winter season with production from Vaca Muerta.
Additionally, tgs will invest another USD 220 million in expansion works within its regulated system to ensure that the gas delivered in Salliqueló reaches consumption centers in Greater Buenos Aires (GBA), the Litoral region, and the north of the country.
In June 2024, with the objective of promoting the development of Vaca Muerta and reducing imports, tgs proposed to the Ministry of Economy the execution of an expansion of the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline, which was declared to be of National Public Interest.
Following this presentation, the National Government declared tgs’s Private Initiative to be of National Interest, delegating the development process to the Secretariat of Energy. Acting under the Secretariat’s instructions, ENARSA was responsible for calling a National and International Public Tender for the execution and financing of the expansion works, including the operation and maintenance of all GPM infrastructure.
After the completion of the tendering process, tgs was awarded the contract.
“The transportation works we will carry out on the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline are essential for the development of Vaca Muerta, as they provide a solution for evacuating incremental gas production and connecting it to the consumer market. We are proud to have promoted this project, which generates multiple benefits for Argentina’s energy supply”, said Oscar Sardi, CEO of tgs.
The project is expected to generate an annual trade balance benefit exceeding USD 700 million, with fiscal savings of around USD 450 million per year from import substitution, in addition to the broader benefits from the development of Vaca Muerta and other productive sectors that will drive Argentina’s economic and social growth through job creation.
Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline
The Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline, inaugurated in July 2023, was built by ENARSA and is currently operated and maintained by tgs.
It stretches from Tratayén, in the heart of Vaca Muerta, to Salliqueló in the Province of Buenos Aires, where it connects with tgs’s regulated system pipelines to reach consumption centers. It has a total length of 563 km and a diameter of 36 inches, and it features two compressor plants located in Tratayén and Salliqueló, each with 15,000 HP, enabling the current transport of 21 MMm³/d.
Project Scope
tgs will install three new compressor plants along the GPM route, plus an additional compressor unit at the existing Tratayén plant, for a total of 90,000 HP.
This expansion will allow the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline to transport an additional 14 MMm³/d by the winter of 2027, reaching a total capacity of 35 MMm³/d.
In the coming months, tgs will conduct an Open Access Process to allocate the incremental 14 MMm³/d capacity among interested parties, ensuring a free-access framework.
Additionally, tgs plans to execute complementary works that could add another 6 MMm³/d. According to the terms of the tender, tgs may exercise the option to carry out a larger-scale expansion of the GPM to enable an additional 6 MMm³/d of transport capacity, depending on market demand.
Complementary Works on tgs’s Regulated System
To ensure that this additional gas reaches consumption centers, tgs will execute an expansion consisting of the installation of 20 km of parallel pipeline to the main trunk and an additional 15,000 HP at the NEUBA III system, including the necessary upgrades for higher-pressure operation.
These works represent an investment of over USD 200 million and include the installation of 20 km of new parallel pipeline, 15,000 HP of additional compression capacity, and all the tests and works required for higher-pressure operation.
The expansion of tgs’s regulated system will allow the gas to reach the GBA area and be transferred to the TGN system through the Mercedes–Cardales Gas Pipeline, supplying the Litoral and northern regions of Argentina while replacing LNG imports from the Escobar Terminal and liquid fuels used for power generation.
It is worth noting that the Mercedes–Cardales Gas Pipeline, built by ENARSA and currently operated and maintained by tgs, enables the gas flows from the tgs system to be directed toward the regulated transportation system that supplies the north of the country.
About tgs
tgs is Argentina’s leading natural gas transportation company. Through more than 9,250 km of pipelines crossing seven provinces, it transports natural gas from the southern and western fields to Argentina’s main urban consumption centers.
Over its 33-year history, tgs has evolved into an integrated services company with five business lines:
- Natural gas transportation
- Processing and commercialization of natural gas liquids
- Midstream services in Vaca Muerta
- Telecommunications
- Technical and operational services
tgs operates more than 35 facilities across seven provinces in southern and western Argentina, employing over 1,100 people.
In Bahía Blanca, tgs operates the Cerri Complex and Galván Plant, key national facilities where natural gas liquids are processed and commercialized.
With a major investment in Neuquén, the company has established itself as Vaca Muerta’s first midstreamer, thanks to the construction of the Tratayén Gas Conditioning Plant and a 183 km gas pipeline system that traverses the heart of the basin, providing innovative solutions for producers.
Its newest business line, tgs integra, offers services and solutions for clients’ assets, leveraging the company’s technical expertise and advanced equipment. It currently provides operation and maintenance services for the Perito Moreno Gas Pipeline.
Through its subsidiary Telcosur, tgs also offers broadband services in southern and western Argentina, operating an extensive fiber and radio network that connects the region’s main cities.
