Key project
Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS) and Transportadora de Gas del Norte (TGN), Argentina’s two largest natural gas transport companies, are interested in constructing the 480-kilometer pipeline that will supply Southern Energy’s Argentina LNG project. This key infrastructure for energy exports is expected to finalize its development plan in the coming weeks.
Both of Argentina’s major gas transporters aim to participate in the project, which will move natural gas from Vaca Muerta, the country’s largest shale gas and oil formation, to the Golfo San Matías in Río Negro province.
Southern Energy (SESA), the consortium made up of Pan American Energy (PAE), YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy and Golar LNG, is leading one of three liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects under the broader Argentina LNG megaproject.
This phase, spearheaded by SESA, received approval in early 2025 to export part of Vaca Muerta’s production using a floating LNG vessel. Recently, a second liquefaction unit was added, expanding the project’s processing and export capacity.
Under the 2024 RIGI framework, the company announced its final investment decision (FID) in recent weeks for the second vessel, the MKII ship, currently under construction in China. It is expected to arrive in southern Argentina in 2028 to join the Hilli Episeyo vessel.
As part of the project, the company is now evaluating the FID for the pipeline. Options under consideration include having the pipeline owned by the consortium’s shareholders, while construction and operation would be tendered to third parties. Another possibility is that a single transport company assumes full control of the infrastructure, charging a fee for gas transportation.
In either scenario, analysts say TGS and TGN are the most likely candidates to carry out the project, given their technical capacity and extensive networks transporting natural gas across Argentina.