RE:New Gas Processing Plant Cost The Gran Choaco plant in Bolivia, right near Argentina border..
The construction of the liquid separation plant at Gran Chaco opens a new chapter in the history of the petroleum business in Bolivia. For the first time, the South American country will become self-sufficient in liquid hydrocarbons, mainly LPG, therefore guaranteeing its energy security for the future.
At the same time, it is a major step in the energy supply integration of the region’s Southern Cone, since the excess production will be exported to neighboring countries—Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil and, potentially, others.
Project outline. The turnkey contract for the Gran Chaco gas separation and liquefaction plant, which includes engineering, materials, construction and startup, has an estimated cost of $592 million (MM). The cost of operating the plant will be approximately $13 MM, which brings total investment to $605 MM, to be amortized over a period of 15 years.
The cost of building the facility will be financed in its entirety by Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB) and state-owned oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB). The Gran Chaco plant is expected to generate an annual income of $1 billion/year, which will bring a substantial socioeconomic benefit to Bolivia.
The new gas separation and liquefaction plant will be located in the town of Yacuiba, on the border with Argentina, in the state of Tarija. The liquid separation plant will process 32.2 million cubic meters per day (MMcmd) of natural gas, yielding 2,144 metric tons per day (metric tpd) of ethane, 2,247 metric tpd of LPG, 1,658 bpd of isopentane and 1,044 bpd of gasoline.
The aim of the Gran Chaco plant is to recover the excess energy being exported in natural gas sold to Argentina (68 Btu/scf), with a present energy value of 1,068 Btu/scf, which will allow for additional production of LPG that can be exported to other markets. This strategy will generate income for the Bolivian state, as well as create raw materials, such as ethane, for the manufacture of plastics.