A subsidiary of Argentine natural gas transporter TGN has been renamed Gasoducto Manuel Belgrano, establishing it as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to advance the $1.5 billion Tratayén-La Carlota gas pipeline project under the nation’s RIGI investment incentive regime.

The SPV was created to manage the construction, operation, and maintenance of the 750-kilometer (466-mile) high-pressure pipeline system.

Running between Tratayén in Neuquén province and La Carlota in Córdoba province, the project is designed to expand transport capacity for natural gas originating from the vast Vaca Muerta shale formation to supply northern provinces.

The RIGI regime offers qualifying single-project vehicles comprehensive tax, customs, and foreign exchange benefits, along with 30 years of regulatory stability.

If approved by authorities, the initiative is expected to become the third gas infrastructure project sanctioned under the program, joining TGS’s $550 million Perito Moreno compression project and the $1.3 billion San Matías feedgas pipeline.

Energy expert Francisco Romano, a partner at law firm PAGBAM and director of Universidad Austral's energy institute, noted that the pipeline will structurally reshape Argentina’s energy matrix.

"The project will prevent incremental Vaca Muerta gas from competing for transport capacity that currently supplies the Litoral region," Romano said, adding that it will eliminate complex transfers between the TGS and TGN transmission networks via the Mercedes-Cardales ring.

The pipeline is designed to deliver a baseline capacity of 13 million cubic meters per day (Mm³/d) to the La Carlota node by late 2028.

To accommodate these additional flows and push supply to northern regions, TGN will also need to expand capacity on the existing Gasoducto Norte system, where lower sections currently handle 15 Mm³/d compared to 25 Mm³/d near Salta province.

TGN Chief Executive Horacio Pizarro previously stated that the project requires securing 13 to 15 Mm³/d in firm initial demand to proceed.

A final investment decision is targeted for late 2026, subject to financing, regulatory approvals, and market conditions.