Chasco Bay-Vallenar Gas Pipeline

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This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Chasco Bay-Vallenar Gas Pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline in Chile.

Location

The proposed pipeline would run from Chasco Bay in Copiapó, Atamaca, Chile to Vallenar, Atamaca, Chile.

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Project Details

• Operator: Andes S.A.
• Parent Company: Royal Dutch Shell, Wärtsilä, Mitsui Chile
• Current capacity:
• Proposed capacity: 10 million cubic meters per day (353.15 million cubic feet per day)
• Length: 57 miles / 92 km
• Status: Proposed
• Start Year:

Background

The pipeline was proposed in September 2016 as part of the Andes LNG project in Copiapó, Atacama. The project will include a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) that will visit Chasco Bay every fifteen days, a terminal, a 2-km submarine pipeline, and another 90-km of pipeline to Vallenar. In June 2019 the project was approved by a vote of 12-0 by the Chilean Environmental Assessment Service.

Opposition

The project is opposed by the mayor of Copiapó, Marcos Lopez, and numerous residents on the grounds that it would threaten the local economy, damage the bay ecologically and reduce tourism. Opponents point to the rich biodiversity of Chasco Bay, which is a nesting site for Humboldt penguins, a waystation for migrating Pacific green turtles and four types of whale, and home to large expanses of Marocystis pyrifera (giant bladder kelp) and Zostera chilensis (native Chilean eelgrass). Opponents also cite the potential impact on the many local residents whose livelihood depends on harvesting seaweed and other marine products.