The Argentine government approved a US$500 million private project to strengthen natural gas pipeline connections between the Vaca Muerta shale region and Buenos Aires province, marking a major shift in the country's energy infrastructure from state dominance to encouraging private investment.

The private local operator Transportadora de Gas del Sur (TGS) proposed six compressor tube sets to increase the pipeline’s capacity and planned to spend an additional US$200 million in a second phase to build new pipelines and expand compression capacity.

Upon completion of the project, natural gas transportation capacity will be increased to 35 million cubic meters per day.

The expansion is part of Argentina’s strategy to increase production at Vaca Muerta to meet domestic demand and future liquefied natural gas exports.

Meanwhile, state-owned oil company YPF planned to raise US$2 billion by the second quarter of 2025 to build the Vaca Muerta Sur pipeline to transport 390,000 barrels per day to a coastal export terminal.