TRADITION AND INNOVATION
IN THE ARGENTINIAN NATURAL
GAS INDUSTRY
INVESTING
GAS
IN SUPPLY IN
ARGENTINA Daniel Ridelener, CEO at Transportadora de Gas del Norte, outlines the recent investments made to renovate the company’s infrastructure
M
ore than half of the
pressure pipelines in the centre and north of the
primary energy
country. Tracking back its history, it is a
produced in Argentina
continuation of Gas del Estado, a state-owned
comes from natural gas, a fact that
company privatised in 10 business units at the
positions the country as the largest
end of last year.
consumer in Latin America.
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Today, TGN is responsible for the
The biggest company dedicated
transportation of 40% of the gas that flows
to its transportation in Argentina is
through the Argentine trunk gas pipelines.
called Transportadora de Gas del
Exclusively operating the two existing gas
Norte, founded in 1992 as a
pipeline systems in the North and Central regions,
company dedicated to the
the company represents 18% of the national
transportation of natural gas by high
energy matrix.
It operates and maintains more than 9,100 km of gas pipelines (more than 6,800 km of its own
RENOVATION AND CHANGES IN INFRASTRUCTURE
and 2,300 km of third parties) and 20 compressor plants with 375,620 HP. Through
Ridelener, trained as an industrial
this, it connects eight of the nine distributors,
engineer, began his work at
industries and thermal power plants located in 15
Transportadora del Gas del Norte in
Argentine provinces with the NeuquĂŠn,
1992, when the company was
Northwest and Bolivian basins.
founded. In January 2008, he
Daniel Ridelener, CEO, has overseen the
started in general management and
recent infrastructure renovations carried out with
in his 25 years at TGN, he has
a high-level investment.
experienced very significant
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changes in activity at the company.
“WE OPERATE A SYSTEM OF 9,1 00 KILOMETRES AND 20 COMPRESSOR PLANTS, WHICH CLEARLY REQUIRES VERY STRONG INVESTMENTS IN TERMS OF MAINTENANCE, OPTIMISATION AND MODERNISATION” — Daniel Ridelener, CEO
He distinguishes three very marked periods since the company began its operations. From 1992 to the end of 2001, a period of great investment and growth in the transportation system; from 2002 to 2015, a second period where this growth stopped (linked to the 2001 macroeconomic crisis in Argentina and the subsequent application of policies that undermined the operation and development of this
TGN
Operates and maintains more than 9,100 km of gas pipelines (more than 6,800 km of its own and 2,300 km of third-party pipelines) and 20 compressor plants with 375,620 HP Has the exclusive right to operate the two existing gas pipeline systems in the North and Central-West regions of Argentina
“We operate a system of 9,100 kilometres and 20 compressor plants, which clearly requires very strong investments in terms of maintenance, optimisation and modernisation. “The plan of committed investments has to do mainly with works related to the integrity of the transportation system and the modernisation of compressor plants and control systems. Outside of the plan committed to the Government, we are in the process of studying different alternatives to expand our transportation system.”
industry) and finally, from 2016 onwards, a stage
THE VACA MUERTA GAS AND OIL FIELD
of recovery, investment and development based
Vaca Muerta, located in the
on the strategies of the new government.
Neuquén basin (150 kilometres from
Immersed in this new stage, the company is
the city of Neuquén), is one of the
working on a significant investment plan for all its
largest unconventional oil and gas
infrastructure to adapt to the changes to come.
deposits in the world, with proven
Ridelener explains this change: “The current
reserves are estimated at 22,500
government faced a comprehensive tariff review
million BEP (Equivalent Petroleum
process which took effect at the end of March
Barrel).
2017. We signed an agreement with the
In the short term, an approximate
government where we made the commitment to
investment of $2,5 bn per year is
carry out an investment plan that, in general
expected by oil companies to extract
terms, is in the order of $100mn per year.”
gas, in a 35-year investment plan. w w w. t g n . c o m . a r
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“WE SEE THAT VACA MUERTA GIVES ARGENTINA SOME VERY IMPORTANT POTENTIAL” — Daniel Ridelener, CEO 08
Ridelener explains these new
an example, we can mention the Fortín de
opportunities: “The potential of
Piedra deposit of Tecpetrol, which
unconventional deposits was already
expects to reach a production of around
known, although the technology to exploit
15mn cubic meters per day by the end of
them began to be available economically
the year. Considering that it started from
and effectively about 10-12 years ago. In
zero a year ago, it is a very significant effort.
the country, shale oil and shale gas
Something similar, to a lesser extent,
deposits have been exploited for about
occurs with other Vaca Muerta players.”
five years, which allowed us to go through
Ridelener offers deeper vision into the
a learning curve that will result in greater
basin: “We see that Vaca Muerta gives
productivity of equipment and labour and,
Argentina some very important potential. If
therefore, in minor production cost.”
we compare it with the path travelled by
“Currently, shale gas production in Vaca Muerta has been growing very strong. As
the shale gas in the USA, in a few years we would find ourselves with a very
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“WE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH THE GOVERNMENT WHERE WE MADE THE COMMITMENT TO CARRY OUT AN INVESTMENT PLAN THAT, IN GENERAL TERMS, IS IN THE ORDER OF US $ 100MN MILLION PER YEAR” — Daniel Ridelener, CEO
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competitive gas resource at international
agreement signed with the Government
level, especially considering gas as an
implied, after more than a decade of
input for industry and electricity
freezing, a recompositing of the tariff
generation. In addition, the export
based on the guidelines established by
business is reborn almost immediately by
current legislation. The integral tariff
gas pipeline to neighbouring countries,
review consisted precisely of bringing the
and in the medium term through gas
tariff to its fair and reasonable value and
liquefaction.”
then maintaining the real value of it through
“In all that process we see ourselves with a very active role both in gathering activity in the basin, and expanding the transport capacity of the gas pipelines.”
semi-annual adjustments based on the evolution of local inflation rates.” “There is a discussion going on at the political and media level regarding what the adjustment will be like in October. The
THE TARIFF SITUATION OF NATURAL GAS IN ARGENTINA
wants to moderate this increase, so that it
The recent fluctuations in natural gas tariffs
has the least possible impact on
are a hot topic in Argentina, where
consumers. In particular, I would be
Transportadora de Gas del Norte plays an
working on generating scenarios of
important role.
greater competition in the purchase of gas
Ridelener adds: “The integral
Government, within the agreed rules,
by the distributors,” concludes the CEO.
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Don Bosco 3672 - 4° P C1206ABF, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires - Argentina T +54 - 11 4008-2000 www.tgn.com.ar