La Invernada Bajo del Choique Oil Pipeline
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La Invernada Bajo del Choique Oil Pipeline , also known as the Bajo del Choique Nordeste Pipeline, is an operating oil pipeline in Neuquén province, Argentina.
Location
The pipeline starts in the La Invernada Bajo del Choique oil fields (93 km northwest of Añelo and 184 km northwest of Neuquén city) and runs 43 km east to a junction with the Oldelval Oil Pipeline near Rincón de los Sauces.[1]
Project details
- Owner: Pluspetrol[2][3]
- Parent company: Pluspetrol
- Capacity: 60,000 barrels per day[4][5]
- Length: 43 kilometers[4][5]
- Diameter: 12 inches[5]
- Status: Operating[6]
- Start year: 2025[6][7]
- Cost: US$75 million[8]
- Financing:
Background
In 2015, EMEA (ExxonMobil Exploration Argentina) acquired a 35-year concession on the La Invernada – Bajo del Choique block in the Vaca Muerta shale formation of Neuquén province, Argentina.[9] In 2019, following completion of a successful pilot project, ExxonMobil announced plans to move ahead with development of 90 production wells, a central production facility, and a 55 km oil pipeline that would connect to the Oldelval Oil Pipeline[1][9], a separate pipeline project in which ExxonMobil acquired a 21% stake in November 2018.[10]
In June 2019, ExxonMobil executive Daniel De Nigris affirmed that the Invernada Bajo del Choique pipeline was in the final stages of engineering development and that the company expected it to be operational by 2020.[10] However, the pipeline's future remained in doubt due to the sharp drop in oil prices caused by Saudi-Russian competition and the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.[11]
Exxon's 2021 annual report listed the La Invernada project as "evaluating development plan to tie into planned infrastructure."[12] As of March 2023, there had been no evidence for further development of the pipeline in more than two years, and it was presumed to be shelved.
However, in mid and late 2023, several sources mentioned that ExxonMobil was in the process of launching a pipeline tender to boost its operations in Vaca Muerta.[13][4][8] The proposed pipeline, also referred to as the "Bajo del Choique Nordeste pipeline"[8], seems to have been slightly modified as compared to its previous 2019 version. As of November 2023, the proposed 12-inch-diameter pipeline was expected to stretch 43 km, with a potential maximum capacity to transport 60,000 barrels of oil per day.[8] ExxonMobil planned to begin construction of the pipeline in the first half of 2024 and put the project into service later in the year.[8]
As of June 2024, the pipeline was reportedly 20% complete, with an estimated start-up date of December 2024.[7] However, as of January 2025, ExxonMobil had not yet confirmed commercial operation of the project.
In December 2024, Pluspetrol acquired all of ExxonMobil's holdings in the Vaca Muerta region, including the Bajo del Choique-La Invernada oil field and associated assets.[2][3]
The pipeline began operating in March 2025.[6]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Argentina set for Exxon oil expansion (p 20)" (PDF). Pipelines International. October 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Vaca Muerta: Pluspetrol completó la compra de los activos de ExxonMobil". EconoJournal. 2024-12-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Pluspetrol acquired all of Exxon Mobil's assets in Argentina | AméricaEconomía". América Economía. 2024-12-16. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Newbery, Charles (08 November 2023). "ExxonMobil launches tender to build oil pipeline in Argentina to boost Vaca Muerta output". S&P Global Commodity Insights. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Con una inversión de u$s75 millones ExxoMobil construirá un nuevo oleoducto en Vaca Muerta". www.ambito.com. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Un nuevo oleoducto en Vaca Muerta: terminó la obra Bajo del Choique Nordeste". Mejor Energía. 2025-03-27. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Vaca Muerta: el oleoducto Bajo del Choique Nordeste tiene un grado de avance del 20%". Mejor Energía. 2024-06-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "ExxonMobil construirá un oleoducto para su producción en Vaca Muerta". Mejor Energía (in español). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ExxonMobil proceeds with Argentina expansion project in Vaca Muerta Basin | ExxonMobil". ExxonMobil. June 11, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 "ExxonMobil apuesta fuerte al midstream en la cuenca". Diario Río Negro. June 20, 2019.
- ↑ "Oil crash kills Vaca Muerta's potential as the next shale hotspot". World Oil. April 2, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Annual Report 2021 (p 88)" (PDF). ExxonMobil. February 23, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ExxonMobil Launches $75M Pipeline Tender to Boost Oil Output in Argentina's Vaca Muerta | Pipeline Technology Journal". www.pipeline-journal.net. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
