OLACDE and CAF held the closing workshop for Phase IV of the Regional Gas Integration Project in Santiago, Chile, carried out at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Chile and attended by authorities, national delegations, and technical teams from the Mercosur countries and Chile.
The meeting focused on the presentation and analysis of the new regional gas transport model developed by OLACDE based on information provided by the countries. The tool seeks to optimize the use of existing infrastructure, identify more efficient routes, and project cost reductions under different operating scenarios.
The opening remarks were given by Guido Maiulini, Head of Strategic Advisory at OLACDE; Luis Felipe Ramos, Undersecretary of Energy of Chile; and Mercedes Pedreira, Executive at CAF’s Directorate of Integration, Trade and Investments, who highlighted the importance of this stage in deepening regional cooperation and promoting a more efficient and complementary gas system.
Guido Maiulini noted: “Since we began this process in 2023 we have achieved very significant progress, and the strength of this work reflects both the commitment of the MERCOSUR countries and Chile to resume discussions on gas integration strategies and the meticulous work of their agencies and the essential involvement of multilateral organizations such as MERCOSUR and CAF.” He added: “During this time we have been able to build an alliance with clear programmatic direction and create joint technical working spaces that allow us to develop the tools needed to advance toward regional energy integration, as demonstrated by today’s meeting devoted to analyzing a new regional gas transport model.”
Meanwhile, Luis Felipe Ramos stated: “For the Government of Chile, energy and gas integration is essential, because it contributes to security, resilience, and the fulfillment of our environmental goals. From the Ministry of Energy we are moving forward with concrete actions such as updating regulations and our active participation in this process to ensure that integration becomes an effective pillar of the energy transition and of the country’s decarbonization objective.”
For her part, Mercedes Pedreira stated: “At CAF we appreciate the time and dedication that each delegation has put into this study, which aligns with our commitment to regional integration and a just energy transition. The alliance with OLACDE that gave rise to this work is a fundamental tool for addressing the challenges our countries face today.”
During the workshop, the delegations made progress in validating the hypotheses and data provided by the countries, reviewed the topology of the regional transport system, and analyzed the operational and planning constraints identified at the national level. Real-time simulations were also carried out to assess how the model behaves under variations in transport, production, and demand costs, and to observe their effects on flow allocation and the system’s economic efficiency.
Within this framework, findings emerged that include the need to expand evacuation capacity from Neuquén, strengthen intermediate infrastructure to meet potential demand from Paraguay and northern Uruguay, and adapt the model to the changes Brazil will implement in its transport system in the coming years.
The open-source model, which is under continuous adjustment, makes it possible to identify more competitive transport routes, minimize costs, and estimate indicators of interest to the countries, such as the final price of gas at each node, over short- and medium-term horizons, under different configurations and scenarios the countries consider possible.
With this work, OLACDE and CAF are consolidating a tool to optimize gas transport costs and strengthening joint planning to advance toward regional energy integration.
