TUBING DOWN THE TUBES?
The Southern Energy (SESA) consortium – composed of Pan American Energy (30 percent), YPF (25 percent) and Pampa Energía (20 percent) with the other shares held by Britain’s Harbour Energy and the Norwegian Golar – has awarded the contract for supplying tubing for the gas pipeline connecting the Vaca Muerta shale deposits with the Río Negro coast to the Indian company Welspun Corp Ltd. after underbidding Grupo Techint, the traditional supplier of energy infrastructure in Argentina by 40 percent, an award apparently made just before Christmas but only receiving media attention this week. Deregulation & State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger defended the result on the basis of the cost benefit but although the tender was between private companies, the setback for Techint rapidly acquired a political impact. Welspun (one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of tubing with an installed capacity of 2.55 million tons) was not alone in their interest, topping 15 other international bidders from countries like China, Spain, Mexico and Turkey, attracted by the benefits of the RIGI incentive scheme for major investments.
Continue Reading on Buenos Aires Times
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.