The Vaca Muerta Southern Oil Pipeline project is shaping up to be Argentina’s biggest energy infrastructure venture in the last 50 years.

The Techint-SACDE consortium, tasked with building the Vaca Muerta Oleoducto Sur (VMOS) mega oil pipeline, has successfully completed the stage to clear and grade the right-of-way (ROW) for Line 1, running 110 km between the towns of Allen and Chelforó in the province of Río Negro. This is a major milestone in the process to build the 437-km pipeline, which will carry oil from the Neuquén Basin to Argentina’s Atlantic coast.

Backed by a consortium of majors including YPF, Pan American Energy, Vista Energy, Pampa Energía, Chevron Argentina, Pluspetrol, and Shell Argentina, VMOS is the first hydrocarbons project to be included in the Large Investment Incentives Regime (RIGI, in Spanish). Once completed, it will significantly increase Argentina’s capacity to transport and export oil, cementing Vaca Muerta’s position as a strategic player on the global energy stage.

The work undertaken by the consortium involves laying a 30-inch diameter pipeline in two stretches: the first from Allen to Chelforó, and a second extending to Punta Colorada. Once up and running, the pipeline will transport 380,000 barrels of oil per day in Phase I, with plans to ramp up to 690,000 barrels per day in Phase II following the addition of two pumping stations.