More Argentine gas will meet Chilean demand by 2000

Robert Galatiuk
TransCanada International
Santiago

Gas supplied by Gasoducto del Pacífico will help clear the air in the industrial city of Talcahuano, near Concepción, Region VIII, Chile. (Photograph from Trans Canada International, Santiago)

Stockpiling of linepipe in La Primavera, Neuquén, Argentina, takes place in advance of pipelay during the 1998-99 construction season. (Photograph from TransCanada International, Santiago) [17,868 bytes]
Right-of-way preparation progresses through some of the rugged Chilean countryside near Cuatro Juntas, Region VIII, Chile. (Photograph from TransCanada International, Santiago) [29,940 bytes]
By 2000, the last of three pipelines supplying Argentine gas to Chilean markets will be operating.

Construction of Gasoducto del Pacífico from Loma de la Lata in Argentina's Neuquén Province to Concepción-Talcahuano, in Region VIII in the south of Chile, will by yearend 1999 supply natural gas to the communities of Concepción, Talcahuano, Coronel, Penco, and Lirquen.

When the second phase starts up in April 2000, gas will flow to Laja, Los Angeles, Nacimiento, Lota, Escuadrón, and Arauco (Fig. 1 [90,329 bytes]).

Gasoducto del Pacífico shareholders are TransCanada International (TCI), Calgary (30%), Gasco (Chile, 20%), El Paso International (U.S., 21.8%), ENAP (Chile, 18.2%), and YPF (Argentina, 10%).

TCI is project manager for design and construction and will be system operator upon start-up. The company is the international arm of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd., Calgary, which in 1998 merged with NOVA Corp., Calgary.

(Editor's note: The accompanying box presents information on GasAtacama, in northern Chile, which will start up in first quarter 1999.)

NOVA Gas International, now TCI, also built the Gasoducto Andes (GasAndes) natural-gas pipeline (OGJ, Apr. 21, 1997, p. 61), the first pipeline connecting Argentine supplies with Chilean markets, primarily in and near Santiago.

First gas flowed through GasAndes in August 1997, supplying the Metropolitan Region and Region V in Chile with natural gas from the pipeline system of Argentina's Transportadora de Gas del Norte at La Mora, province of Mendoza.

Total investment in GasPacífico amounts to $317 million (U.S.) divided between investment in Argentina ($127 million) and Chile ($190 million). This amount excludes $44 million allocated to supply industrial customers and another $14 million for housing and industrial and commercial distribution in Region VIII.

Westward flow

GasPacífico will run 539 km (335 miles) between Loma de la Lata in the province of Neuquén (Argentina) and Talcahuano (Chile). The length in Chile between the Cordillera de los Andes and Talcahuano is 243 km; 296 km are in Argentina.

An additional 102 km of branch lines will supply other towns and industrial customers in the region.

Design, procurement, acquisition of right-of-way, and permits are all in progress in Argentina and Chile.

In Argentina a few months ago, 60 km of grading were completed from the Argentine-Chilean international border eastward, and the upper Neuquén River was crossed. In the high country of Chile, a construction camp was installed for use during the 1998-99 construction season.

Construction in Argentina targets completion in August 1999. In Chile, construction began in early October with targeted completion yearend 1999.

Contract for the 233 km of 20-in. OD pipeline in Argentina has been awarded to a consortium consisting of CPC S.A., ICA S.A. (Ingenieros Civiles Asociados), Contreras Hermanos S.A., Victor M. Contreras S.A., and Pamar S.A., all in Buenos Aires.

The contract for the 139 km of 24-in. OD pipeline in Argentina and Chile was awarded to Techint, Buenos Aires, and the 167 km of 20-in. OD pipeline in Chile was awarded to Gas del Bío Bío, a consortium consisting of Norberto Odebrecht S.A., Rio de Janeiro; Dragados International Pipelines S.A., Madrid; Constructora Belfi S.A., Santiago; and Attila Doggan, Calgary.

The gas pipeline route crosses the arid pampas of Argentina, the high country of the Andes in Argentina and Chile, and the central valley and coastal range of Chile.

Gas flow pressure in the main line pipeline will be 98 bar (approximately 1,410 psi). In places near communities, the pressure will be reduced to 50 bar. The depth of cover will be 0.8 m as an average.

Initial capacity of the pipe is 3.8 million cu m/day (approximately 134 MMcfd).

Varied suppliers

Main line pipewall will vary between 7.1 and 11.1 mm (0.28 in. and 0.44 in.) W.T.; diameters are 20 in. and 24 in. (50 cm and 60 cm).

Pipe is being supplied from three pipe mills in three countries. All pipe for Argentina (20 in. and 24 in.) will be supplied from the SIAT mill near Buenos Aires or from the Confab mill in Pindamorhangaba, Brazil. The Mannesmann Handel mill in Hamm, Germany, is supplying the 20-in. pipe for Chile, and the Confab mill in Brazil the 24-in. pipe.

Both GasPacífico pipeline as well as its branches will be built and operated in accordance with the country-specific codes governing safety and consistent with international design and operating standards applied by TCI for more than 40 years in different parts of the world.

In Chile, the environmental impact study for the project approved by Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente (Conama) and the concession granted by the Electricity and Fuels Commission (SEC) were transferred from the Gasoducto Transandino (Transgas) project to Gasoducto del Pacífico.

The only permit pending is the Environmental Impact Study for the extension of the gas pipeline from Concepción to Talcahuano. This extension will supply industrial customers in the city of Talcahuano. Approval was expected this month.

Demand growth

Long-range demand projections for natural gas in Concepción, Talcahuano, Penco, Los Angeles, and other main cities in the Region VIII and to Mininco in Region IX in the south of Chile are 1.5 million cu m/day (53 MMcfd) on initial start-up in 1999, 4.5 million cu m/day in 2005, 7.1 million cu m/day in 2010, and 9.0 million cu m/day in 2020.

Two companies will sell and distribute natural gas in Region VIII: Servicios de Gas Natural (SGN) will supply natural gas to industrial customers; Gas Sur (a subsidiary of Gasco) will supply commercial and housing customers in Concepción and surroundings.

Arrival of natural gas in Region VIII will mean that this new source of energy will be supplied in general to such industries as refining, forestry, fishery, and transport and will satisfy the demand from the residential market in the main cities of the region, with all the environmental and economic advantages this fuel represents.

The main cities of Region VIII will reap important environmental benefits from the new fuel. Several industries have already shown interest in converting to gas and thus modernizing their productivity by a more economic and cleaner-burning fuel. Such conversion will contribute to cleaning the atmosphere as is happening with industries in Santiago, as a result of installation of GasAndes.

Use of natural gas in Concepción, Talcahuano, and other cities of Region VIII will contribute to the progress and economic development of this region, similar to the level of developments in the Metropolitan Region (Santiago) and Region V.

The Author

Robert Galatiuk is project manager for Trans Canada International/NOVA Gas International S.A., Santiago, and is currently project manager for Gasoducto del Pacífico. From November 1995 to completion in August 1997, he was the project manager for Gasoducto GasAndes. Before he was assigned to South America with NGI, Galatiuk was employed by NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd., Calgary.
Galatiuk holds a BS in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and an MAS from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.