The construction of the Pipeline, President Néstor Kirchner marked a new milestone with the last weld in the regular line of the trace, a fundamental step to achieve its operation on 20th June.
The ceremony was led by the Nation's president, Alberto Fernández, from the Quinta de Olivos, together with the minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, and the secretary of Energy, Flavia Royón in the Palace Treasury, and Augustine Gerez, Energy president of Argentina from the front of the weld located in the vicinity of the locality of the Reform, in The Pampas.
Through a video call, Augustine Gerez gave place to the last weld regular “in-line” (as it is called at the place where they spend the pipes) of the Pipeline, as President Néstor Kirchner. The milestone was finalized at the height of 232 km of the trace in the vicinity of The Reform, in the province of La Pampa.
In this framework, the President stated that “today, we are gaining in energy sovereignty, when many told us that this was impossible to do, that was a longer work, that we were not going to arrive in time, there is, as we all agree, things work out.” “When we all have the same will, the things they work, when entrepreneurs, workers and the State, have the vocation to solve the problems that Argentina has, things work, and here we have the best evidence,” he added.
In addition, the Head of State stressed that “Argentina is now saving between 2 billion and 3 billion dollars of energy, which previously had to import at the cost of our reservations.” “I hope that, in addition, we understand these to be able to provide that gas that Dead Cow has to take him to Argentina, not just the homes, but also to the industries, factories need of that gas in order to drive their production. Also, large power plants, that need of that gas in order to generate that energy they both use” posed Fernandez.
Finally, the President recalled that “for more than 4 decades that the Argentine was faced with a work of this magnitude, and we were able to realize in our management with a pandemic, with war, with drought, but with huge desire and with a massive decision.”
During the event, Massa said that “for us, today marks a before and an after in the energy policy in argentina”, the time that said that the gas Pipeline “first, that represents a saving of foreign exchange; it is only this year 2,100 million of dollars less than we import gas”.
In addition, Massa noted that “not only serves in the areas of energy, not only ensures gas for our industrial development and the supply of the centre and the north of argentina, but also makes it possible to think of a Argentina exporter of energy, which is fundamental for us.”
Also, the owner of Economics noted that the work “means the demonstration that when we promote an idea, what do we do with order, decision, determination, where everyone does what they have to do, and not everyone does what he thinks he has to do, but everyone does their part and we all work together”.
For its part, Gerez held that “in economic terms, is always highlighted, it is a work that brings us closer to a key milestone that is the energy sovereignty”. In this line, the President of Energy of Argentina stressed that this was “a work that is executed within 9 months, but in natural terms would have to be implemented in 24 months, which has been used the most advanced technology existing in the world”.
This fundamental step of the work, planned and executed by Energy Argentina, is reached in record time, just 178 days after the first welding in the regular line which took place on 16 November 2022 in the town in the buenos aires province of Salliqueló, while the first automatic welding was performed on the 13th of January of this year in Doblas, La Pampa, using for the first time in our country, this cutting-edge technology to the global level, with the achieved the record of 510 welds in a single day.
After completion of the hydraulic tests and surface facilities, with their respective valves, on June 20, the gas pipeline will be put into operation, allowing an annual saving of 4,200 billion dollars per year in replacement of fuel imports.
The tasks were initiated after the signing of contracts in August 2022, when works began on the movement of soil, transfer of equipment and opening track, which is the “way” to where it is placed in the gas pipeline.
In this way, since the beginning of the welding of the pipes, progress was made with an average of 5 km per day counting the three fronts of work. So it was that they tended more of 47.700 pipe 12 meters long and 36 inches in diameter, in the 573 kilometers of extension of the GPNK between Tratayén and Salliqueló, crossing the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, La Pampa and Buenos Aires.
For the laying of the Stage 1 of the Pipeline, as President Néstor Kirchner, were used approximately 300,000 tonnes of pipes, the equivalent of 4.285 Obelisks buenos aires
They also participated in the Governor of Neuquén, Omar Gutiérrez; the members of the board of Energy Argentina Victor Bronstein and Mariano Barrier; Damian Mindlin, President of Sacde, Gustavo Gallino, Director-General of the Southern Area of Techint; the Director of Institutional Corporate of the company, David, Uriburu; the President of the BTU, Carlos Mundin son; the Chief of staff of the Ministry of Economy, Leonardo Madcur; the secretary of the Legal and Administrative, Ricardo Casal; his pair of Industry and production Development, José Ignacio de Mendiguren; of the Knowledge Economy, Juan Manuel Cheppi; of Finance, Raul Rigo; Economic Policy, Gabriel Rubinstein; and Finance, Eduardo Setti. In addition, there were present the holder of the UOCRA, Gerardo Martínez; the UOM, Abel Furlán; chief of the Cabinet of Energy, Federico Enriquez; the deputy secretary of Institutional Coordination, Florence Alvarez Naughty; the secretary of Energy of the province of Buenos Aires, Gaston Ghioni; and the Auditor of ENARGAS, Osvaldo Pitrau.
