MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil interested in buying gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta

“There is the will of both governments to move forward with the project,” Scioli said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Thursday announced in his weekly broadcast on social media that his country had started negotiations to purchase gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta. “It is not easy to start importing gas, creating, building pipelines,” Bolsonaro said.

 While talks between the two countries for the construction of the gas pipeline are progressing, the main challenge ahead is financing a project estimated to cost billions of dollars.

“We are in the exploratory stage now. There is the will of both governments to move forward with the project,“ said Argentina's Ambassador to Brasilia and former Vice President Daniel Scioli.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Thursday announced in his weekly broadcast on social media that his country had started negotiations to purchase gas from Argentina's Vaca Muerta.

“It is not easy to start importing gas, creating, building pipelines,” Bolsonaro said.

While talks between the two countries for the construction of the gas pipeline are progressing, the main challenge ahead is financing a project estimated to cost billions of dollars.

“We are in the exploratory stage now. There is the will of both governments to move forward with the project,“ said Argentina's Ambassador to Brasilia and former Vice President Daniel Scioli.

Argentina has reportedly proposed a 1,430-kilometer gas pipeline from the shale gas reserves in the province of Neuquén to the Brazilian border in Uruguayana plus 600 kilometers from there to Porto Alegre, to join the local distribution network.

Scioli also explained that Brazil needs gas and its industries would welcome a less expensive supply, while securing a large market would attract investors to support Vaca Muerta.

It would take three years to build once it's been decided, Scioli said after admitting he had discussed the issue with President Bolsonaro and Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque.

“This is our great binational project. Brazil needs gas and we need the markets and investments,” Scioli was quoted by the Brazilian Valor Economico news outlet, which estimated the project's costs at US $ 3.7 billion dollars for Argentina and US $ 1.2 billion for Brazil.

In the past, Brazilian Economy Paulo Guedes has repeatedly voiced his country's intention to buy gas from Vaca Muerta. ”It seems very important to us, and we intend to build gas pipelines to bring the energy produced there to Brazil,“ Guedes said in 2019.

Neuquén Governor Omar Gutiérrez, also supported the construction of a ”strategic” gas pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta with Brazil and Uruguay and also supplying the industrial city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe. (Source: Infobae)