Oldelval Completes Welding of 207-Kilometer Duplicar Norte Pipeline

Oleoductos del Valle (Oldelval) completed routine inline welding of the 207 kilometers corresponding to the Duplicar Norte Project, an initiative designed to expand crude oil transportation capacity from the northern Neuquén Basin.

The milestone comes as increasing production from Vaca Muerta demands new alternatives to evacuate crude to processing centers and external markets. The project seeks to mitigate logistics bottlenecks that could constrain development of Neuquén shale oil.

The main section involved approximately 9,840 joints completed through semi-automatic welding. This is supplemented by nearly 7,410 joints fabricated at the Double Joint facility, bringing the total to approximately 17,250 welds covered by the project, including metal fittings, crossovers, and splices still under execution.

Greater Capacity for Neuquén Production

With routine welding completed, Duplicar Norte advances toward complementary stages necessary to achieve operational startup. The project is part of the midstream system expansion that Oldelval is driving to accommodate rising production volumes from the Neuquén formation.

Infrastructure expansion is critical for new well development and unconventional area productivity improvements to translate into higher crude shipments out of the basin. In particular, greater evacuation capacity can support increased exportable surplus and foreign exchange inflows.

In parallel, the industry is developing the Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS) system, which will connect Neuquén production to a new export terminal on the Río Negro coast. Both projects aim to strengthen the physical outlet for Argentine crude to international markets.

Information from Mejor Energía.