ItalianArgentine consortium wins bid for Vaca Muertas largest LNG project

A consortium made up of Argentine construction company Víctor Contreras and Italian Sicim won the tender to build the largest liquified natural gas (LNG) pipeline in the Vaca Muerta oil and gas field, which will allow Argentina to export this valuable commodity. The decision was made unanimously by San Matías Pipeline, the partnership in charge of the project, made up of state-owned oil company YPF, Pan American Energy, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy and Golar LNG. The announcement marks another blow for local giant Techint, the biggest producer of steel pipes for the oil industry in Argentina, which was left out of the race for the tender and, previously, had also lost out on the provision of the pipes for the project. Techint has been the foremost state contractor for large-scale energy projects in the country and was amongst the leading candidates for this tender. In January, the company owned by Paolo Rocca lost out on the contract to provide pipes for the San Matías LNG project to Indian company Welspun Group, and has been harshly questioned by President Javier Milei. Rocca has been critical of Milei’s open trade policies, and the president accused him and other business people of having sustained a system of privileges linked to political power for years. The project According to reports from specialized local reporters, Víctor Contreras-Sicim presented the lowest offer out of the five participating in the tender for the Vaca Muerta project. Argentine company Oilfield Production Services (OPS) also won a part of the tender relating to the installation of a compression plant linked to the same project. The gas pipeline will be 471 kilometers long and connect Tratayén, in Neuquén province, with San Matías Gulf, in Río Negro. It is expected to transport up to 27 million cubic meters of gas per day. The pipeline will supply gas to two liquefaction vessels on the San Matías Gulf and is expected to be operational before the winter of 2028. This is expected to turn the San Matías Gulf into an LNG export hub and could make Argentina one of the few countries to export LNG, currently one of the most expensive commodities due to a worldwide high demand for energy.