TGS considering new gas pipeline: report

Argentinian pipeline operator Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS) is looking into constructing a new gas pipeline and gas treatment plant to serve producers in the Vaca Muerta shale play, international media reported over the weekend.

An anonymous company source told Reuters that TGS is interested in the USD 800-million project, which will ultimately facilitate the increase of unconventional gas production from the Neuquén Basin.

“Producers always say that a new pipeline will be needed for the next shale and tight gas drilling phase in Vaca Muerta,” the agency quoted the source as saying. “A tonne of infrastructure in large pipelines and smaller pipelines is needed.”

The pipeline would increase the gas transportation capacity from the area by 4 mcm (141 mcf) per day, expandable up to 35 mcm (1.24 bcf) per day. The pipeline network currently in place can transport up to 75 mcm (2.65 bcf) per day.

The source also said that TGS could complete the infrastructure within 18 months, but that the company had not yet received regulatory approval for the project.

TGS is one of Argentina’s two main gas pipeline operators, owning a 9,133-kilometre system that connects the Neuquén, San Jorge Gulf and Austral basins to greater Buenos Aires and other main consumption areas.