| Work Detail |
Due to an unforeseen event, they await a government decision to speed up the construction of the Mercedes-Cardales gas pipeline
The pipes used in the work were stowed for years in fiscal warehouses. Many of these materials suffered deterioration due to pitting (corrosion), so it is necessary to brush them to recover their integrity. A formal instruction from Enarsa is expected to speed up the execution terms. It is estimated that the gas pipeline, which will play a key role during the summer, will be operational in the last quarter of the year.
The installation of the Néstor Kirchner (GPNK) trunk gas pipeline is advancing within the announced deadlines. Although the trap complicates the process of importing metal-mechanic accessories that are important to finish the work (such as scraper traps), the three construction companies that are in charge of the project —the UTE Techint-Sacde and BTU— are confident that the laying It will be operational on June 20. Where an unforeseen event did occur is in the construction of the Mercedes-Cardales gas pipeline, a secondary pipeline that will connect the transportation network operated by TGS with the Greater Rosario region, which functions as a meeting point with the TGN system.
The state company Enarsa and the Secretary of Energy made the decision to reuse in the work 30-inch pipes that had been acquired years ago under the umbrella of the expansion plan for the gas transportation system launched during the government of Cristina Kirchner. As part of these projects did not come to fruition, the tubes were stowed in fiscal warehouses in Campana and Dock Sud.
The plan now is to take advantage of the fact that the State has already paid for these materials, so their reuse could bring savings to the Treasury. The problem was that as the welding progressed, the Techint-Sacde Joint Venture, which is in charge of the work (strictly speaking, it subcontracted the installation to Contreras Hermanos and Víctor Contreras for being dedicated to the GPNK), began to verify that many of the pipes were affected by pitting (rust corrosion) due to the passage of time. TGS technicians, who are in charge of the operation of the gas pipeline, also confirmed this situation.
What you have to do is brush the damaged pipes to recover their standard of integrity. As is logical, the process of welding and tubing of the gas pipeline is delayed until that instance is fulfilled. A company from Mar del Plata had audited the quality of the pipes without detecting major problems. Sources familiar with the project said, however, that it is difficult to prescreen more than 6,000 tubes. In an exhaustive analysis, they recognized that this process is only carried out by construction companies when they face welding.
Steps to follow
Although the Techint-Sacde consortium has already started the brushing work on the damaged pipes, what remains now is for the Enarsa Board of Directors, which is the projects principal, to give the green light to face a project acceleration plan . This formal instruction is required to inject speed into these jobs and, in turn, an acknowledgment of the indirect costs of delay. In any case, according to official sources, it is a lower figure than what would have been required to buy new tubes.
The intention is that the project is enabled during the last quarter of the year. "Repairing the pitting will take us between 45 and 60 days longer than expected," the sources consulted admitted.
The Mercedes-Cardales gas pipeline plays a key role in the electricity system during the summer months. As residential gas consumption is low in the summer, Cammesa, the company in charge of dispatching energy, can use more natural gas to generate electricity in thermoelectric plants. Several combined cycle plants are located in the north of the province of Buenos Aires and the south of Santa Fe. This thermal generation complex will benefit from the new gas pipeline because, once it is up and running, it will be able to demand more gas from Vaca Muerta . As a consequence, it will reduce the consumption of liquid fuels (mainly diesel), which are much more expensive. The national Treasury, then, will also benefit because it is, ultimately, the one that covers a large part of these costs through subsidies. |
