This press release was published in English using an automatic translation system
Enap and the companies YPF, Vista Energy, Shell Argentina and Equinor announced today the signing of crude supply contracts from the Vaca Muerta sector, located in the trans-Andean province of Neuquén, valid until June 2033.
The agreements, which will make it possible to supply around 35% of Enap’s annual crude oil demand, contemplate the transport of this raw material through the Oleoducto Trasandino built in the 1990s and which is more than 400 kilometers long. This oil pipeline, after 17 years of inactivity, resumed in 2023 the shipments of oil to Enap’s facilities in Hualpén, Biobío Region, after an exhaustive rehabilitation process.
The contracts, signed after a negotiation process and operational tests lasting more than two years, involve a projected value close to US$12 billion (bn), making it the largest commercial agreement in Enap’s history. By way of reference, the total annual trade between Chile and Argentina is currently close to US$8bn.
The signing of these contracts provides greater security and stability to the crude oil supply, reinforces the country’s energy security, strengthens the logistics chain on both sides of the mountain range, and reduces dependence on maritime transport (regularly impacted by factors such as weather conditions or port congestion). In addition, it allows the acquisition of a crude oil with a lower sulfur content, which is beneficial from an environmental standpoint.
It also reinforces the positioning recently announced by Enap regarding its logistics business, because it will make possible the export of Vaca Muerta crude through the San Vicente Maritime Terminal, located in Talcahuano, strengthening this point as a new hub for the exit of this product through the Pacific Ocean.
“This is a highly significant milestone and consistent with the strategic definitions we have adopted and that is in line with the plan that Enap projects for 2040. The result of this agreement helps improve Enap’s competitiveness and allows our country to have greater energy security, since we will be able to strengthen the production of fuels that are fundamental for industries, transportation, and people’s daily lives,” said Enap’s general manager, Julio Friedmann.
The executive highlighted that transfer by oil pipeline reduces the time required to transport crude and the associated financial costs, and that Enap fully maintains its international maritime import capabilities, strengthening its flexibility in the face of contingencies that may occur in deliveries from Argentina.