Argentina’s YPF completes pipeline to boost oil exports to Chile

YPF, the biggest oil producer in Argentina, said Oct. 18 it completed a pipeline project making it possible to deliver 160,000 b/d of crude from the Vaca Muerta shale play to a local oil refinery and for exporting to Chile.

The last phase of Vaca Muerta Norte project involved launching a pumping station with two storage tanks, the state-run company said in a statement.

The pumping station is now the main spot for moving Medanito, a light sweet crude, out of Vaca Muerta, a huge shale play in northern Patagonia where production is surging.

Vaca Muerta Norte, with 370,000 barrels of storage capacity, feeds some of the Medanito to YPF’s 105,500 b/d Lujan de Cuyo refinery in Mendoza. The rest flows to a 110,000 b/d pipeline to Chile for supplying state-owned ENAP’s 116,000 b/d Bío Bío refinery in that country and shipping out via the Pacific.

The $250 million project promises to make YPF the biggest oil exporter in Argentina, while Chile will be the second-biggest importer of the country’s crude, the company said.

Oil production in Neuquén, home to most of the in-production acreage in Vaca Muerta, shot up 31.4% year over year to a record 430,654 b/d in August from 327,831 b/d a year earlier, according to the Neuquén Energy Ministry.

Exports become new focus

This fast growth has fueled expectations that output will reach 1.2 million b/d by 2030, which will boost exports as domestic consumption runs at 500,000 b/d.

Argentina’s crude oil shipments totaled 109,026 b/d in August, with 80,365 b/d coming from Vaca Muerta, according to data from the national Energy Secretariat.

YPF is also building a pipeline and export terminal on the Atlantic to export 700,000 b/d of crude, starting at 180,000 b/d in mid-2026.

Gustavo Medele, the energy secretary of Neuquén, said building takeaway capacity and export facilities must be the focus for developing Vaca Muerta going forward.

“Our great challenge is how we bring this energy to the world,” he said in an Oct. 18 statement. “The transportation of this energy is what will take on greater importance.”