The CMA-1 Consortium with operator Total (37.5%), Wintershall (37.5%), and Pan American Sur (25%) has announced the start of production at the Vega Pléyade offshore gas-condensate field, located 20 km off the coast of Tierra del Fuego to the south of San Sebastián Bay.

The Vega Pléyadeproject will have a production capacity of 10 million cubic meters of gas per day and will help optimize the supply to the gas treatment plants already in operation in the area.

“Putting Vega Pléyade into production is the result of a successful team work of the partners involved,” explained Thilo Wieland, member of the Wintershall Board of Executive Directors responsible for E&P activities in Argentina.

Vega Pléyade is currently the most southerly gas development in the industry. It involves the construction and installation of a sea platform with a water depth of 50 meters. This platform is connected by a sub-sea gas pipeline with a length of 77 km to the onshore processing installations at Rio Cullen and Cañadon Alfa on the Tierra del Fuego coast.

“Wintershall has been active in Argentina for 38 years. As a partner in the consortium, we are showing once again our commitment to produce oil and gas in Argentina long term,” Gustavo Albrecht, Managing Director of Wintershall Energía in Argentina explained.

In Tierra del Fuego, Wintershall Energía with its partners in the CMA-1 Consortium is active in the Ara and Cañadon Alfa onshore fields as well as the offshore fields at Hidra, Kaus, Argo, Carina, Aries and Vega Pléyade.

Well-positioned in Argentina

As the fourth-largest natural gas producer in the country, Wintershall Energía plays an important role in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in Argentina. The company has been active in Argentina since 1978 – with natural gas production as the main area of its activities. Wintershall Energía has working interests in 15 oil and gas fields with an annual production of 26 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The greatest share of production comes from the offshore fields off the coast of Tierra del Fuego.

About Wintershall

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region. The company wants to expand its business further with exploration and production, selected partnerships, innovation and technological competence. Wintershall employs about 2.000 staff worldwide from 40 nations and is now Germany’s largest, internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer.

About Total

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, and the world’s second-ranked solar energy operator with SunPower. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations in more than 130 countries worldwide consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.