Vaca Muerta has another date in history: YPF starts to produce LNG on the houseboat

Vaca Muerta has a date with history since tomorrow. On the Bahía Blanca coast, an orange giant, the Tango barge, engaged by YPF, will start systematically producing liquefied natural gas (LNG). Thus, the Neuquén Basin will take a first step to fight markets in much of the world, one of the keys to large-scale shale expansion.

Wednesday morning, the Argentine company will begin to inject natural gas from the Neuquén formation to begin a process of forty days.

This is the time it will take to fill the three tanks that are on board this huge barge to get LNG after a process reduces about 600 times the volume of gas, let it pbad through. liquid state and leaves it in conditions that allow it to be transported on methane vessels, such as those that so often brought gas on the same coast.

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The Executive Vice President of Gas, Marcos Browne, highlighted the moment the company's project is underway, the first step towards a possible medium-term expansion that may involve the construction of a liquefaction plant, an objective that would require a mega investment of a $ 5,000 million.

"This is an important day, we started to inject gas regularly from tomorrow so we can export our exports in the next forty days," said the director during a tour that LM Neuquén carried out with a media handle from the rest of the country. the imposing barge of 138 meters long, 36 wide and about 40 high.

During these forty days, the company will produce 132,000 cubic meters of LNG, the equivalent of 80 million cubic meters (MMm3). As a parameter, this equates to little more than all neutral zones produce during a single day. The important fact is that it can be marketed anywhere in the world, mainly in Asia.

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A few months ago, YPF made a first placement of its LNG production, although it was during a test. The main difference now lies in the fact that the company is committed to a sustained process until May next year, taking advantage of the country's cycle of low domestic consumption, which allows it to process excess gas. It is also an outlet for a complex picture: the growing production curve of several companies and the need to find new markets to sell this gas.

YPF hired the Tango barge for 10 years. At the same time, you are badured of transportation of your product until May of next year. This delivery to the destination will be done through two LNG carriers, to ensure that the processing is not stopped while the other is already carrying a previous load. One of these ships has a transport capacity of 138,000 cubic meters of LNG.

"There are 20 exporting countries. Argentina is already entering this small group of producing countries, "said Mr. Browne, in a presentation of the company's plan to steer medium-term process of constructing a train of liquefaction, a possibility that does not exclude a potential consortium of companies that obtain the investment needed to exploit this development together.

Six sales until May 2020

Executive Vice President of Gas and Energy Marcos Browne announced that the company would produce six liquefied natural gas shipments until May 2020.

"Sales are typically set during the last twenty days of the market transaction," he said during a tour of the Tango barge, on the coast that overlooks the area. Mega processing plant in Bahía Blanca.

"We believe we are taking a path that will make us competitive and allow us to project the next leap forward, which involves building a liquefaction plant," he said.

As for the future of liquefied gas in the country, Browne was more than graphic about the opportunities that opened up for Argentina if the conditions of economic stability allowed it to take this step: " The LNG plant is a dollar-printing machine, "he said about the reality of a global market that will need this input for the transition to others renewable energy sources.

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