TGS plans $100M Perito Moreno expansion to move 4.5M more cubic meters a day

Transportadora de Gas del Sur wants to push another 4.5 million cubic meters of gas a day through the Perito Moreno pipeline, and it expects the job to cost $100 million. On October 8 the Argentine transporter asked the country's Energy Secretariat to approve an expansion of the line's first phase.

According to Pipeline Technology Journal, TGS chief financial officer Alejandro Basso told investors on the third-quarter earnings call that the company expects approval shortly. El Fondo reports that TGS detailed the proposal on that call on October 30, 2026, following a Form 6-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2026.

The 4.5 million cubic meters a day matters because of what it sits on. Perito Moreno carries 21 million cubic meters a day today. An ongoing $550 million compression project on the same pipeline is scheduled for completion by late April 2027 and will add 14 million cubic meters a day of capacity.

An expansion inside an approved ceiling

TGS is working within limits that were set earlier. When state energy company Enarsa tendered the pipeline, it authorized incremental expansions of up to 6 million cubic meters a day. TGS's 4.5 million request falls under that cap.

The money side is just as specific. Pipeline Technology Journal reports that about $70 million of the estimated $100 million will be covered by an application to RIGI, Argentina's investment incentive regime. That is 70% of the project's capital.

Stacking volume on the compression build

According to Pipeline Technology Journal, the new expansion comes alongside the ongoing $550 million compression project on the same pipeline, which installs three compression plants totaling 9,000 horsepower and is scheduled for completion by late April 2027. El Fondo reports that TGS had incurred $360 million in cumulative capital expenditure on that base expansion through September 30, 2026.

Feeding the trunk from Sierra Chata and El Mangrullo

TGS is also building out the supply side of the system. Its board recently approved two 15-year gas transport agreements, one with Pampa Energía and the other with Procesadora de Gas del Sur, a special purpose vehicle. The two deals secure firm capacity of up to 18.5 million cubic meters a day for gas flowing out of the Sierra Chata and El Mangrullo fields. The contracts are backed by a planned $190 million gas-gathering network and also include a connection between TGS's Tratayén treatment plant and the San Matías pipeline.

The 18.5 million figure covers gathering and transport from two specific fields. It is not Perito Moreno capacity, and it should not be read as volume set aside for the new expansion. What it does indicate is that TGS is widening the feeder lines in the Neuquén basin at the same time as it widens the main line. Fifteen-year firm terms give the operator long visibility on the gas it will be moving.

Separately, El Fondo reports that TGS is advancing a natural gas liquids project with an estimated total capital requirement of $3.2 billion, and is seeking a $1.4 billion syndicated bank loan to help pay for it.

Who gets the extra gas

The Perito Moreno pipeline carries natural gas out of the Vaca Muerta shale play to the country's central demand centers. That supply lets Argentina depend less on expensive liquefied natural gas and imported liquid fuels to generate power.

For generators and large industrial users planning their fuel supply, the timing could matter. The compression capacity has a date: late April 2027.

For buyers tracking the expansion, the Energy Secretariat's decision could be the first thing to watch. Basso said TGS expects to receive approval shortly. The next date is late April 2027, when the compression project is scheduled for completion.