Almost a dozen experts in gas extraction and/or transportation will testify in the case in which it is being investigated whether there was a direction for the tender for the construction of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline in the Vaca Muerta field, after the former Minister of Productive Development Matías Kulfas denied last Friday having known acts of corruption in relation to that issue.
Kulfas’ statement before federal judge Daniel Rafecas and prosecutor Carlos Stornelli “he toned down the cause”a judicial source who is following the file told Télam and recalled that the case began with complaints made by lawyers and opposition leaders who had mounted statements and ‘off the records’ disseminated by the former minister and his entourage in which raised the possibility that there had been irregularities in the tender.
During the two hours in which he was in front of the judge and the prosecutor, Kulfas repeatedly denied having knowledge of possible crimes related to the construction of the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline and clarified that the statements on the subject were nothing more than discrepancies and political and public policy discussions, the product of his difference with certain positions of Vice President Cristina Fernández. of Kirchner.
Apart from the political differences, the key point of the statement -under oath to tell the truth- was that the former minister acknowledged that the information disseminated by the portfolio was incorrect that he headed in which it was pointed out that in the tender for the construction of the gas pipeline, tubes of such a thickness had been required that only the multinational Techint could fulfill them.
The turn of the experts
Now it will be the turn of the experts: for Monday, former Enarsa official Antonio Pronsato, who resigned from his position as head of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline Execution Unit, is called to testify as a witness; while on Tuesday there will be a meeting of experts in gas extraction and on Wednesday a similar meeting of specialists in transporting that substance.
Specialists from four companies that extract gas in Vaca Muerta (Pluspetrol, YPF, Tecpetrol and Total Austral) to explain as witnesses the “technical requirements” necessary for the construction of the gas pipeline; forecasts and projections of extraction and subsequent gas transportation.
The hearing will take place in one of the trial rooms of the federal courts of Comodoro Py, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Retiro, and the court anticipated that it could be recorded and later broadcast on YouTube, due to the public interest that was raised in connection with this issue.
On Wednesday the 15th, at 10 a.m., a second hearing will be held, to which four experts appointed by the companies TGN and TGS (Transportadora Gas del Norte y del Sur), Enargas and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires were summoned. .
After the hearings, an evidentiary scenario will be set up from which Judge Rafecas will be able to define whether it is appropriate to continue investigating the possibility that they had been committed illegally in the auction aired or if it is appropriate to file the proceedings due to the absence of a crime.
The lines of investigation raised by the prosecution, on which the court must define, are three: the alleged routing of the tender in favor of Techint, the possible violation of the national purchase law in relation to the award for the supply of valves and the possibility that some employer had exercised undue influence to keep some section of the work.
The cause
In this file there were accumulated complaints filed by opposition leaders and private lawyers inspired by the report ‘in off’ that on Friday night the Ministry of Productive Development questioned the bidding process -which is still open-; proposals that were rejected and denied by the company Ieasa (Integración Energética Argentina Sociedad Anónima) through a statement.
On Saturday, in its response, the state-owned company Energía Argentina (Ieasa) criticized the ‘off’ of Productive Development, considering it “a note lacking in technical knowledge” and denied that “a bidding document tailored to Techint” had been put together. .
In that reply, the company assured that this thickness in the sheet metal laminate responds to international standards that require certain “technical scopes” for gas pipelines, in proportion to the length of the route and the pressure of the gas to be transported.
In addition, it reported that for the acquisition of valves “the bidding process is still open and will be declared unsuccessful, because none of the offers meets the requested delivery times”, with which it responded to another of the reproaches included in the note ‘off’ sent by WhatsApp.
