The Argentine economy ministry formally approved Compañía Mega’s admission to the RIGI investment regime for a $365 million expansion that will raise natural gas liquids processing capacity from 5,500 to 7,000 tonnes daily, a 27 percent increase. The project will add separation capacity at the Loma La Lata plant in Neuquén, construct two new pumping stations on the polyduct crossing Río Negro and La Pampa provinces, and expand fractionation infrastructure at Bahía Blanca. Eighty percent of the incremental 500,000 tonnes annual output will target export markets, with the remainder supplying domestic petrochemical feedstock. Works will run through late 2028 and generate up to 800 construction jobs. Compañía Mega, owned by YPF, Petrobras and Dow, processes roughly 40 percent of Neuquén basin gas and operates Argentina’s main NGL export platform.
A proposed 1,000-kilometer rail network centered on Añelo aims to cut logistics costs for oilfield supplies. TBSA’s initiative would link Vaca Muerta production zones with Atlantic terminals at San Antonio Este and Punta Colorada, incorporating logistics hubs at Rincón de los Sauces, Malargüe and Campo Grande. Each unconventional well requires 11,000 to 15,000 tonnes of proppant sand, with annual demand projected at 15 million tonnes. Over 80 percent currently travels 1,200 kilometers by truck from Entre Ríos province at an estimated cost of $185 per tonne. A multimodal rail-truck system could reduce that to $50 per tonne while enabling backhaul of regional minerals and agricultural products. The project requires concessions across multiple jurisdictions and proposes private financing under a long-term operating agreement.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
