Oldelval inaugurates pipeline set to add USD 8 Billion in exports

Oleoductos del Valle (Oldelval) has inaugurated the "Duplicar" project, enabling it to increase transport capacity from the Neuquén Basin to the Atlantic Ocean. This undertaking required an investment of $1.4 billion.

The 525-kilometer-long pipeline, which runs through the provinces of Río Negro, La Pampa, and Buenos Aires, will boost transport capacity to 540,000 barrels of oil per day from the current 225,000 barrels, allowing greater exploitation of the Vaca Muerta formation's resources.

All oil transported through the pipeline will be destined for export, which is expected to generate an additional $8 billion in annual revenue, according to the company’s estimates.

"This project now allows Vaca Muerta to fully express its potential and will lead to a multiplication of exports, bringing in much-needed foreign currency for the country," said Ricardo Hösel, CEO of Oldelval.

The pipeline starts in the town of Allen, in Río Negro, and extends to Puerto Rosales, in Buenos Aires. It will enable the export of 300,000 barrels of oil per day.

Hösel also stated that Oldelval will begin construction in mid-year on two other approved projects—Duplicar X and Duplicar Norte—worth $900 million, which together will increase transport capacity from the Neuquén Basin to 900,000 barrels of oil per day by 2026.

The executive noted that these projects, in addition to the Vaca Muerta Sur pipeline being developed by state oil company YPF, will allow companies to expand production to the maximum.

"So that we never again experience the oil transport bottlenecks we faced over the past three years," Hösel said. "Now is the time to take advantage of this gift of nature that is the Vaca Muerta formation. Our clients cannot afford to lose a single day without producing at full capacity," he concluded.