Vaca Muerta Oil Sur advances offshore export infrastructure in Río Negro

The Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS) project is advancing its offshore infrastructure in Río Negro, Argentina, to facilitate crude oil exports from the Vaca Muerta formation. Two large monobuoys, manufactured by the Dutch company Bluewater in the United Arab Emirates, have departed from Cape Town, South Africa, aboard the cargo ship Jumbo Javelin. These structures are destined for San Antonio Este and will be installed off the coast of Punta Colorada in the San Matías Gulf.

The monobuoys, which weigh 272 tons each and have a diameter of 15.3 meters, are Turret CALM Buoy types designed to allow Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) to load oil in open water without entering conventional ports. They will work in conjunction with Pipeline End Manifolds (PLEMs) to connect offshore lines to the loading points.

On the technical side, the project involves a complex underwater pipeline installation. Using Horizontal Directional Drilling, the pipeline will be installed beneath the beach and seabed to emerge 700 to 750 meters offshore. The offshore section utilizes 38-inch diameter pipes coated in concrete, which are joined using the ‘S-lay’ technique by specialized vessels. Once operational, the terrestrial pipeline from the Allen station to the Punta Colorada terminal is expected to transport oil in approximately 48 hours.