NorAndino Gas Pipeline

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The NorAndino Gas Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline in Argentina and Chile.

Location

The pipeline runs west from the Pichanal natural gas compressor station in Argentina's Salta province, passing through Tres Cruces (Jujuy province), crossing the Argentine-Chilean border at Paso de Jama, and continuing through the Antofagasta region to Engie's Tocopilla and Mejillones power stations and the Mejillones LNG Terminal on Chile's Pacific coast.

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Project Details

• Operator: Gasoducto NorAndino
• Owner: Engie Energía Chile (EECL) (100%)
• Parent Company: Engie (59.99%), Santiago Stock Exchange (40.01%)
• Current capacity: 2 to 8 million cubic meters per day
• Length: 1,070 kilometers
• Diameter: 12 inches, 16 inches, 20 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 1999
• Associated infrastructure:
  • Tocopilla power station
  • Mejillones power station
  • Mejillones LNG terminal

Background

The pipeline was originally designed to transport natural gas from northern Argentina to Chile. However, starting in 2004, Argentina began reducing gas exports to Chile due to insufficient supply, and by 2007 gas transport through the pipeline had been completely halted.

In 2012, Argentina and Chile began discussing possible conversion of their trans-Andean pipelines to permit bi-directional flow. By 2016 the two governments had developed scenarios calling for Chile to export natural gas received at its Mejillones LNG Terminal and Quintero LNG terminal to the Argentine provinces of Salta and Mendoza, respectively, during the winter months, while Argentina would ship natural gas from its own production to Chile during the summer. The two pipelines identified as the best candidates for this initiative were the NorAndino Gas Pipeline in the north and the GasAndes Pipeline in the south.

In December 2017, Engie Energía Chile and Argentina Energy Consulting Services (ECS) became the first private companies to take advantage of the NorAndino Pipeline's new bi-directional capacities. Under the terms of their agreement, ECS was to export up to 2.5 million cubic meters of Argentine natural gas per day for use in Engie's Chilean operations through May 15, 2018; after that date, and within 240 days of its initial shipment, ECS was to reimport an equivalent volume of gas from Chile.

The NorAndino Pipeline, along with the GasAndes Pipeline, has continued to play a key role in meeting shifting seasonal demand for natural gas in Chile and Argentina. In April 2022, Argentine and Chilean government officials met with representatives of 10 leading oil and gas companies to discuss a fuel swap initiative that would send Vaca Muerta gas to Chile in the summer months via the GasAndes pipeline, while returning gas to northern Argentina in the winter months via the NorAndino Gas Pipeline.

The completion of the first phase of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline in 2023 accelerated Argentina's plans to reverse the course of the Gasoducto Norte Gas Pipeline so that Vaca Muerta gas could be brought to northern Argentina, both for domestic consumption and for export to Chile via the NorAndino pipeline.