Argentina advances $4.5 bn Vaca Muerta investment and major electricity grid upgrades

The national government approved Pampa Energía’s $4.521 billion Vaca Muerta project under the RIGI regime, targeting 259 new horizontal wells and phased investments through 2041 to boost hydrocarbon exports.

In the Buenos Aires province, a new Quequén transformer station in Necochea will raise capacity from 15 MW to 60 MW, with an investment of about 25 billion pesos, linking to a 132 kV high‑voltage line.

The Energy Ministry scheduled a public consultation on the AMBA I transmission project for Greater Buenos Aires, which includes new substations and line extensions and is seeking financing from the Inter‑American Development Bank.

A battery‑storage program in the province will install a 25 MW/125 MWh system in Mar del Tuyú and three other nodes, costing roughly 31 billion pesos, to improve reliability and integrate renewables.

In Neuquén, the provincial cooperative completed an electrification upgrade for the Z1 North sector of the Neuquén Industrial Park, adding new medium‑ and low‑voltage lines, lighting and eight substations to serve 25 companies.