A Comahue metalworking company against the projects: where boilermaking fits, where to start and what to do this month
Example executive summary on Demonstration case · metalworking company from the Comahue (fictitious) · 30 RIGI projects and enabling works reviewed · data available as of Sep 9, 2026 · two pages; the full report has the literal rule and the source of every figure.
It would fit into 6 of the 30 projects we track in Neuquén and Río Negro: treatment plants, pumping stations, terminals and tanks. Size is not what decides: 2 of those 6 already have a published RIGI resolution, and the holder signed a sworn commitment to buy at least 20% of its spending on goods and works from Argentine suppliers. And the work that lasts is not the construction: it is the maintenance of the plants the construction leaves installed.
01The four it would start with — an order, not a limit
| Project | Why (illustrative fit) | When it buys | Who, and first step |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMOS (pipeline and terminal)Río Negro · USD 2.486 M verified | Punta Colorada terminal with a six-tank yard, and pumping stations at Allen and Chelforó: tanks, structures and erection are the exact product. | Works at 80% in July 2026: the route and the tanks are already awarded. What remains: the marine front, maintenance and the next terminal.under construction verified | The contractor buys, not the holder: Milicic and CB&I at the terminal, AESA at the stations. First step: register in the Río Negro Suppliers Registry (Law 5805).Milicic probable |
| Rincón de Aranda (Pampa)Neuquén · USD 4.500 M verified | Treatment plant, pipelines and tanks under construction until July 2028. A basin workshop already makes the tank shells: the trade is bought locally. | First stage under way until 1-Jul-2028; the third, with 139 wells, starts in 2031.first production verified | Invoices go to SACDE, the EPC, not to Pampa. First step: certify as a Neuquén Supplier (Law 3338) and present the capacity response to SACDE.SACDE verified |
| Los Toldos II Este (Tecpetrol)Neuquén · USD 6.400 M probable | Central crude and gas treatment plant under construction: modular trains, plant and pipelines. Works at 30% in April 2026. | Phase 1 until March 2027, with a 24-month EPC contract; phase 2 (85 pads and the pipeline) follows the drilling pace.under construction verified | Techint E&C is the EPC; Tecpetrol governs purchasing through a corporate registration. First step: the pre-qualification Semillero, free and digital (83 requirements).Techint probable |
| TGS gas liquids (Tratayén)Neuquén · USD 3.000 M verified | Tratayén plant, gathering pipeline, products pipeline and fractionation: USD 3,000 M decided on 10-Jun-2026. No works yet. | Construction of 45 to 46 months from the start; commissioning expected in March 2030.pre-construction verified | Centralised purchasing by TGS. Critical equipment was already bought in August 2026: the open window is erection, civil works and services. First step: certify as a Neuquén Supplier. |
- The 20% is a sworn statement by the holder, with one condition: local supply at market price, measured against the import landed in Argentina with duties and anti-dumping. verified
- Each project reports every two years from its adhesion. VMOS (pipeline and terminal) reports on Mar 6, 2027 · Rincón de Aranda (Pampa) reports on Jun 25, 2028 estimate
- Supplier lists are built before the heavy works. Whoever arrives later loses the track record that opens maintenance.
Imported modules and vessels come in turnkey through the RIGI modular route: in YPF’s valve tender, 80% of the value went to importers. The bottleneck is not welding (more than 50 basin workshops have idle capacity) but certifying: ASME Sec. VIII, API 650, API 6A.
What turnkey does not cover is mechanical maintenance as a framework contract (shutdowns, static and rotating equipment): USD 120 to 200 M a year in the basin, where proximity and lead time beat the import. Recurring, and it lasts as long as the plant.
- Get certified as a Neuquén Supplier with Centro PyME-ADENEU (Law 3338). The 60% floor by sector only switches on if a certified supplier exists in that sector; the first one to certify brings it into being.
- Register at the windows that are already open: Tecpetrol’s Semillero (free and digital, 83 requirements aligned with ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and API Q2) and the Río Negro Supplier Registry (Law 5805), which is the door to the VMOS terminal.
- Write the capacity statement: tonnes per month, current certifications, crews for site work, references with a contact. It is the first thing an EPC asks for, and it cannot be improvised.
verified read in the official text · probable serious source, not the rule · estimate our own calculation, formula in the report · the company’s fit with each project carries no tag: it is illustrative.
05The map of the 6, in one table
Ordered by when they buy, not by size. The amount is the project’s investment, not what it would spend on boilermaking. «What it buys» is the plant unit where the trade fits.
| Project | Province | USD M | What it buys from this sector | When, and in what status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buying now — works under way · 5 | ||||
| LLL Oil (YPF)no plant contractor identified | Neuquén | 25.000 verified | Surface works and evacuation of the flagship block | 2025 → Q3 2026 for the pipeline, September 2026 for the plant · first production probable · submitted, no resolution yet |
| Bajo del Choique (Pluspetrol)Víctor Contreras · SPI (contractors) | Neuquén | 12.000 verified | Modular early production, under way; The development measured by the environmental study, in permitting | Nov 2025 → 2027, one modular plant at a time; process open since January 2026; hearing held on 31 Mar 2026, no environmental decision yet · under construction probable · submitted, no resolution yet |
| Los Toldos II Este (Tecpetrol)Techint E&C (EPC) | Neuquén | 6.400 probable | Phase 1 — the central facility and its infrastructure, under construction; Phase 2 — the 85 pads and the export pipeline, in environmental permitting | Feb 2025 → Mar 2027, a 24-month EPC contract; environmental study signed in Feb 2025, public hearing scheduled for May 2025; the works follow the pace of drilling · under construction verified · submitted, no resolution yet |
| Rincón de Aranda (Pampa)SACDE (EPC) | Neuquén | 4.500 verified | First stage - CPF, pipelines and 50 wells; Third stage - 139 wells | 8 Jul 2024 -> 1 Jul 2028; 1 Jul 2031 -> 2041 · first production verified · approved |
| VMOS (pipeline and terminal)Milicic and CB&I · AESA (contractors) | Río Negro | 2.486 verified | Pump stations and tanks; Subsea pipeline and single-point moorings | 2026; 2026 · under construction verified · approved |
| Submitted, no resolution yet — watched, not visited · 1 | ||||
| TGS gas liquids (Tratayén)TGS, centralized purchasing | Neuquén | 3.000 verified | Construction: Tratayén plant, gathering line, pipeline, fractionation and terminal | 45 to 46 months from the start; start-up expected in March 2030 · pre-construction verified · submitted, no resolution yet |
Amounts, dates and statuses: resolution in the Official Gazette or financial statements verified, company or provincial announcement probable. «Reports on…» is adhesion plus two years, our own calculation estimate.
Five answers only the company has: which track record it would show an EPC · how much free capacity it has (tonnes per month, crews, largest contract without expanding) · which certifications it holds today and which it could hold in six months · who it competes against today · which of the 6 it already knows. One «we already sell to SACDE» changes the whole order. With that, the market size becomes what the company can invoice with the capacity it already has.
Every figure in this summary comes from the site with its tag: verified we read it in the official text (the resolution, the financial statements, the law); probable there is a serious source but not the primary one; estimate is our own calculation, with the formula in the full report. The fictitious company’s fit with each project carries no tag: it is illustrative, our reading to show the format. In a real report that reading is made on what the company actually makes and certifies.
What cannot be known from the outside, and is asked: who currently supplies boilermaking to each project (there are no public supplier lists by sector) · whether the company is on a provincial registry · how much free capacity it has.
The company is fictitious: Demonstration case · metalworking company from the Comahue does not exist. The external data are real: projects, amounts, dates, statuses, rules and contractors come from the site, with their tag and source. The company ↔ project fit is illustrative, not verified: it shows how the analysis reads for a company of this kind. In a real report that reading is made on what the company actually makes and certifies.