Argentina has launched tenders for a new $2 billion gas pipeline, servicing the Vaca Muerta formation, a shale field dating back to the late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age, located in the Neuquén Basin in northern Patagonia, Argentina.
The pipeline will run from the southern province of Neuquén to Salliqueló, a town in the province of Buenos Aires, and transport up to 22 million cubic meters of gas per day, according to media sources.
Roughly the size of the country of Belgium, Vaca Muerta is one of the largest onshore oil and gas plays in the world. Argentinian president Mauricio Macri reportedly envisions the development as an opportunity to wean the country off natural gas imports, eventually positioning it as a natural gas exporter, according to Reuters.
The tender process is expected to yield results in October, with the pipeline slated for completion in mid-2021.
