The Government authorized the construction of the Mercedes-Cardales gas pipeline

This Friday, the National Gas Regulatory Agency (Enargas) reported that construction of the gas pipeline called “Mercedes - Cardales” will begin.

The pipeline construction project will be carried out by Integración Energética Argentina S.A. (Ieasa) under Law No. 24.076. This work “is of particular relevance within the priority works framed in Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) No. 76/22 and included in the Transport Argentine Gas Program (“Transport.Ar”), including the Presidente Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline (GPNK)”, according to the Enargas statement.

In turn, they highlighted in the statement a fragment of the aforementioned DNU, which specifies that “... the 'Presidente Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline' is a core component of the set of works aimed at expanding the capacity of the gas transport system and optimizing its use, because, together with the work of the 'Mercedes-Cardales Gas Pipel' consolidate the interconnection of existing transport systems, providing greater reliability and security to the supply of current demands...”.

Federico Bernal, the auditor of Enargas, pointed out, along the same lines as Ieasa, that “the Mercedes — Cardales Gas Pipeline configures an interconnection gas pipeline that allows the transfer of gas from one Transport System to another in a bidirectional manner and, consequently, allowing delivery in the Northern volumes injected into the Austral or Neuquina basin and vice versa, providing the Transport System as a whole with greater supply reliability in the highest consumption Delivery Zone of our country. We are working at full steam and side by side with IEASA for what will be the most important gas infrastructure project in the country since the middle of the last century, and without a doubt one of the most important in the hydrocarbon world today.”

The project approved by the regulatory body is crucial to “meet the needs of hydrocarbons of the country with the production of its own fields by optimizing the national transport system; ensuring the domestic market supply of natural gas, allowing import substitution and a reduction in the cost of supply; inadmissibility of delays or delays”.

In this context, following the authorization of Enargas for the execution of the construction works of the Mercedes - Cardales gas pipeline, the company Ieasa is enabled to begin work “without delay” within the limits and regulations imposed. These works will have certain steps, namely:

1. An additional natural gas supply channel would be available, which would form part of the Gran Buenos Aires Ring (GBA), which would reinforce the supply of the large residential consumption and electricity generation recorded in that delivery area.

2. The development of a second GBA Ring would begin, thus improving the operating conditions of pressure, security and quality of supply.

3. A new point of interconnection between the Southern Transport System and the North Transport System would be available at the Cardales Delivery Point, which would allow flexibility to derive natural gas flows according to demand conditions in both systems.

4. Natural gas would be stored in the pipeline (line-pack), which would provide a greater “lung” to respond to the dynamic variations that occur in peak consumption during winter periods during days of harsh weather, and would allow the burden to be distributed on this new project, alleviating current variations on the southern area of Greater Buenos Aires.

The project seeks to improve the service for thousands of Argentine users, specifically the objective is to generate greater reliability that “will bring great benefits to users of the entire system, from different technical perspectives such as improved reliability, replacement of more expensive fuels and imports, extensions to export, electricity generation, industrial and petrochemical development, provincial royalties, etc.”

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