Argentina has inaugurated the first stage of its Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, which will carry natural gas from the Vaca Muerta formation in western Argentina to the Santa Fe province, passing through the Buenos Aires province. The inaugurated section, which has an initial capacity of 11 mcm/d (4 bcm/year), runs for 573 km between Tratayén in the Neuquén province and Salliqueló in the Buenos Aires Province. The capacity will be brought up to 20 mcm/d (7.3 bcm/year) at a later date. This first section required an investment of US$2.5bn.
The gas pipeline project entered construction in April 2022. The entire pipeline, which is estimated at a cost of US$3.4bn, will be extended to San Jerónimo (Santa Fe), crossing the provinces of Río Negro and La Pampa, and its capacity would be increased to 44 mcm/d. Argentina secured a US$540m loan from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) in March 2023 and a US$689m loan by the Brazilian state development bank (BNDES) in December 2022 for the construction of the pipeline.