Investments totalling US$600 million for state-controlled energy company YPF were confirmed yesterday by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner during a national broadcast.
The president also announced the arrival of a cargo train service to the shale energy fields of Vaca Muerta, which will be used to provide inputs for the promising but still-to-be-developed area.
The news was issued in front of a big crowd in the city of General Roca in Rio Negro province, with the president speaking by videoconference with presidential hopeful and Interior and Transport Minister Florencio Randazzo, as well as YPF chief Miguel Galuccio, who were at the Fernández Oro train station.
The multi-million dollar investment will be used for drilling, with Galuccio promising to double gas production in the next three years.
A reduction of transportation costs of around 25 percent is expected to take place with the new railway. It will reach the nearby town of Añelo, which has also been receiving significant investment since the news of the economic potential of Vaca Muerta began to emerge.
Further expansion was also promised by Randazzo, who said that since July 20 “brand new trains will start running between Neuquén and Cipolletti, with the goal of reaching General Roca too.” The fact that trains will be built nationally, through Materfer Argentina, was also emphasized.
Finally, the president also inaugurated the expansion of the National University of Rio Negro building.
Date: May 15, 2015
Source: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/189226/us$600m-investment-for-ypf
