Argentina GNL Gas Pipeline
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Argentina GNL Gas Pipeline is a proposed gas pipeline in Argentina.
Location
The pipeline is proposed to run from the Vaca Muerta gas fields of Neuquén province to the Argentina GNL export terminal at Punta Colorada in Río Negro province. The pipeline's route would roughly parallel the Vaca Muerta Sur Oil Pipeline currently in development.[1]
Project details
- Operator: YPF, Petronas[2]
- Owner: YPF, Petronas[2]
- Parent company: YPF, Petronas[2]
- Capacity: TBD
- Length: 640 km[2][3]
- Diameter: 36 in[2]
- Status: Proposed
- Start year: 2027[2][3]
- Cost:
- Financing:
- Associated infrastructure: Argentina GNL Terminal
Background
The Argentina GNL pipeline was proposed in 2024 to transport gas from the shale gas fields of Vaca Muerta to the newly announced Argentina GNL terminal in Río Negro province. Gas transported through the pipeline would be liquefied at the Argentina GNL terminal for export to other countries.[2][3]
The pipeline was announced as a three-phase project, with the first phase to be completed by 2027.[2][3] Early reports indicated that the pipeline would be 640 km in length[2][3] and 36 inches in diameter[2], but as of September 2024 the project's capacity, route, and the exact nature of the individual phases remained unclear.
Environmental and Social Impacts
Punta Colorada, located on Golfo San Matías along Argentina's Atlantic coast, marks not only the eastern terminus of the Argentina GNL Gas Pipeline and the proposed site for YPF's Argentina LNG export terminal; it has also been chosen as the end point for the Vaca Muerta Sur Oil Pipeline and its associated oil export terminal. The judicial, legislative, and executive branches of Río Negro province have played a key role in making these projects viable by removing legislation that recognized Golfo San Matías as a protected natural area. In August 2022, Law 3308, which prohibited the construction of oil ports along the gulf[4], was swiftly repealed behind closed doors.[5]
Argentine environmental groups have stressed that the convergence of so many major oil and gas projects at Punta Colorada implies the expansion of hydrocarbon infrastructure to new regions, affecting the livelihoods of local people and impacting a vast diversity of flora and fauna.[6] There is concern that these projects could harm Península Valdés, a habitat for protected species such as southern right whales, orcas, South American sea lions, southern elephant seals, dusky dolphins, and Magellanic penguins, among others, impacting both wildlife and tourism in the region.[7][8]
Opposition
Leading Argentine NGOs such as Observatorio Petrolero Sur, FARN (Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) and Greenpeace Argentina have spoken out forcefully against the new oil and gas projects proposed along the Río Negro coast, organizing protests and promoting political and legal action to challenge new hydrocarbons development in the region.[9][10][11][12]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Pecollo, Adrian (2024-05-26). "Río Negro ingresó en la disputa por la planta de exportación de Gas Natural Licuado". Diario Río Negro.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "Vice de YPF afirma que se busca "la mejor ubicación técnico económica" para la planta de GNL". Mejor Energía. 2024-07-09.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Cuánto costará construir la planta de GNL en Punta Colorada, Río Negro". Política Viral. 2024-08-06.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ley Nº 3308". Legislatura de Río Negro. 1999-08-27.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "A puertas cerradas modificaron una ley que protegía el golfo San Matías en Río Negro". ANRed. 2022/08/26.
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(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Puertos petroleros en Bahía Blanca y el Golfo San Matías: ¿Cómo esperar algo diferente?". Observatorio Petrolero Sur. 2024-03-01.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Organizaciones argentinas del Foro para la Conservación del Mar Patagónico se oponen al proyecto de la terminal petrolera en el Golfo San Matías" (PDF). Foro para la Conservación del Mar Patagónico. 2023-08-17.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Un colectivo de entidades ambientales, sociales, culturales y empresariales solicitan ante la Justicia que Chubut actúe para detener el avance de un puerto petrolero en el Golfo San Matías". Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas. 2024-01-04.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Ambientalistas de Argentina protestarán contra la construcción de un puerto petrolero". infobae. 2024-07-30.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "¡Urgente! Quieren modificar la ley que evita la contaminación en el Golfo San Matías de Río Negro para convertirlo en zona de sacrificio petrolero". Fundación Greenpeace Argentina. 2022-09-08.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Golfo San Matías: organizaciones logran que se suspenda la Audiencia Pública por el oleoducto". Observatorio Petrolero Sur. 2023-03-20.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Vaca Muerta Sur: tensión y sólo voces a favor en una cuestionada audiencia pública". Observatorio Petrolero Sur. 2023-08-18.
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