Gasoducto del Pacifico

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Gasoducto del Pacifico, or Pacific Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline running from the Loma la Lata gas field in Argentina to Talcahuano, Chile.

Location

Starting from the Loma la Lata gas field in Neuquén province, Argentina, the pipeline runs via San José de Añelo, Argentina and Pemuco, Chile to Talcahuano, Bío Bío region, Chile.

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Project Details

• Operator: Gasoducto del Pacífico SA
• Owner: CGE (Compañia General de Electricidad SA), Enap, Trigas, YPF
• Parent company: Naturgy (formerly Gas Natural Fenosa) (60% in Chile, 56.7% in Argentina), Enap, Trigas, YPF (% unknown)
• Capacity: 7.5 million m³ per day (2.74 bcm/y)
• Length: 670 km
• Diameter: 20 inches, 24 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 1999
• Associated infrastructure:
  • Loma la Lata gas field
  • Talcahuano FSRU

Background

Opened in November 1999, the 670-kilometer Gasoducto del Pacifico runs through Argentina (299 km) and Chile (just over 370 km). The pipeline supplies natural gas to industrial and residential customers in Chile's Biobío region.

In 2005 a section of the pipeline between Argentina and Chile was shut down as the two countries chose to use their respective sections to meet their domestic need for gas, but in 2018 the Chile-Argentina connection was reopened to transport gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta region.

In August 2020, a ruling by Chile's Supreme Court paved the way for gas imported through the proposed Talcahuano FSRU to be transported via the Gasoducto del Pacífico network upon the terminal's anticipated completion in 2022. However, in October 2021, the Environmental Court of Valdivia revoked the Talcahuano FSRU's environmental license, leaving that project in limbo.

As of January 2022, gas exports to Chile via the Gasoducto del Pacífico were allowing Argentina to ramp up natural gas production at Vaca Muerta, even as Argentina's domestic pipelines such as the Centro Oeste Gas Pipeline were operating at full capacity and incapable of handling increased volumes. In June 2022, the presidents of Chile and Argentina announced that gas exports to Chile via the Gasoducto del Pacífico would continue throughout the winter months (June through September 2022), albeit at a reduced level due to higher domestic natural gas demand in Argentina.

Expansion Project Details

• Operator: Gasoducto del Pacífico SA
• Owner: CGE (Compañia General de Electricidad SA), Enap, Trigas, YPF
• Parent company: Naturgy (formerly Gas Natural Fenosa) (60% in Chile, 56.7% in Argentina), Enap, Trigas, YPF (% unknown)
• Capacity: 5 million m³ per day (1.83 bcm/y)
• Length: 0
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2019

Proposed Expansion Background

In May 2018 the Spanish gas company Fenosa announced that it would invest US$50 million to increase the pipeline's capacity by 5.0 million cubic meters per day, to a total of 12.5 million cubic meters per day. According to news reports in May 2019, the expansion project was already nearing completion, and in July 2019 the new compression station at San José de Añelo (Neuquén province) had reportedly begun operating., although subsequent news reports implied that full commercial operation was still pending as of July 2023.