The pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta to the industrial heart of Brazil
A 3,548 km natural gas corridor from one of the southern hemisphere's largest reserves to Latin America's biggest industrial market. Real infrastructure, top-tier institutional partners, and a legal framework protecting the investment for 100+ years.
3.548 km
Total length
USD 15.000 M
Estimated investment
35–45 MMm³/d
Transport capacity
100+ years
Infrastructure lifespan
~13.5% IRR
Estimated return
Why now
Brazil is running out of gas. Argentina has more than enough.
For 20 years, Brazil imported its natural gas from Bolivia. That model is ending: Bolivian fields are mature, with no significant new discoveries. At the same time, Argentina found in Vaca Muerta one of the world's largest unconventional reserves.
🇧🇴
Bolivia — in decline
Mature fields. No new discoveries. Exports declining year after year. Before the end of this decade, supply could cease entirely.
🇦🇷
Argentina — on the rise
Vaca Muerta: world's 2nd largest shale gas reserve. Production: from 17 MMm³/day in 2015 to over 90 MMm³/day in 2025. Already exporting to Brazil.
The Brazilian Government included the Argentina–Brazil connection among the 14 priority projects of its National Gas Infrastructure Plan. This is not a concept — it is a recognized necessity by both governments.
The corridor
From Vaca Muerta to São Paulo: 3,548 km of infrastructure
The pipeline crosses Argentina from west to east, enters Brazil at Uruguaiana, and traverses the industrial states of southern Brazil all the way to Paulínia — the country's largest industrial hub.
A
Origin · Section I
Vaca Muerta, Neuquén 🇦🇷
World's 2nd largest shale gas reserve · ~1,067 km² assigned to the project
→
Argentine provinces crossed
Neuquén · Río Negro · La Pampa · Buenos Aires · Entre Ríos · Corrientes
~1,630 km · Ø 40 inches · 5 compressor stations
✦
Border crossing · Section II
Uruguaiana → Canoas 🇧🇷
~650 km · Ø 40 inches · 3 compressor stations · Rio Grande do Sul
→
Brazilian states crossed
Rio Grande do Sul · Santa Catarina · Paraná · São Paulo
~1,268 km · Ø 40"/36" · 4 compressor stations
B
Final destination · Industrial hub
Paulínia, São Paulo 🇧🇷
26 MMm³/day industrial demand · ~40% of Brazil's industrial GDP
Tramo I
1.630
km VM → Uruguaiana
Tramo II
650
km Uruguaiana → Canoas
Tramo III
1.268
km Canoas → Paulínia
The resource
The Province of Neuquén owns the gas. And is a partner in the project.
The Argentine Constitution (Art. 124) establishes that provinces are the original owners of their natural resources. Neuquén is, by law, the constitutional owner of Vaca Muerta's gas.
Investors do not buy gas on the spot market. They access a project where the constitutional owner of the resource is inside the structure as a partner. GyP Neuquén (provincial state company) has assigned 8 dry gas areas · ~1,067 km² within Vaca Muerta's main development window to the project.
TotalEnergies already completed the first Vaca Muerta gas export to Brazil in November 2024, and a direct test export in April 2026. The route is technically validated.
The market
Brazil's largest gas distribution network is already in the project.
COMPASS — Grupo COSAN's gas division — controls the gas distributors across Brazil's main industrial states. These are the same companies currently receiving Bolivian gas. They are the natural buyers of the GASBRA corridor.
Distributor
State
COMPASS stake
Comgás
São Paulo
99,1%
Sulgás
Rio Grande do Sul
51%
SCGás
Santa Catarina
41%
COMPAGÁS
Paraná
24,5%
CEG Rio
Rio de Janeiro
37,4%
MSGás + Potigas + más
MS, RN y otros
49–83%
COMPASS also owns Pactual Commodities — a natural gas and electricity trading company — and Biometano Verde Paulínia (51%), located at the exact final destination hub of the pipeline.
The consortium
Partners that define the scale of the project
GASBRA is in its development and structuring phase. The final shareholding composition is being defined. What is already confirmed is the institutional quality of those at the table.
Confirmed partners
Provincia de Neuquén / GyP
Confirmed
Resource owner · Structural partner
Constitutional owner of Vaca Muerta's gas. Without Neuquén there is no project. GyP assigned 8 dry gas areas (~1,067 km²). MoU signed in December 2025 with Governor Figueroa.
GásBra Energía S.A.
Founder
Project promoter and developer
Consorcio promotor de origen en el sector industrial de São Paulo. Presidente: Marco Maia. Vicepresidente: Luis Buffa. Arquitectos del proyecto desde su concepción.
Garantia Capital Ltd
Confirmed
Institutional financial backing
Represented by Luiz Cézar Fernandes, co-founder of Banco Pactual in 1983 — today BTG Pactual, Latin America's largest investment bank.
USD 145B in assets4th most valuable company in Brazil
BTG Pactual is the main shareholder of Grupo COSAN → COMPASS → Brazil's largest gas distribution network.
In process of incorporation
Petrobras
Under evaluation
Technical operator — O&M
Brazil's most valuable company. Under evaluation as main Operations & Maintenance contractor for the Upstream in Neuquén and the Midstream in Argentina and Brazil.
USD 81.1B market cap
COMPASS / Grupo COSAN
In negotiations
Distribution network · Offtake
Brazil's largest gas distribution network (Comgás, Sulgás, CEG Rio, SCGás, COMPAGÁS and others). They are the natural buyers of the corridor's gas. Their equity participation converts the customer into a co-investor.
TotalEnergies · TBG · TSB · Voqen · Be8
In negotiations
Transport · Upstream · Biomethane
TotalEnergies operates in Vaca Muerta and has already exported gas to Brazil. TBG and TSB are the existing transporters of the Bolivia–Brazil system. Voqen (Braskem) and Be8 bring the biomethane component.
The final shareholding structure is being defined. The project is at pre-FID stage. Those who enter now access the greatest value appreciation potential of the development cycle.
Legal framework
100+ años de horizonte económico protegido por ley
Argentina enacted in 2024 the Ley Bases with the RIGI (Large Investment Incentive Regime): a legal framework guaranteeing fiscal, customs and foreign exchange stability for 30 years, with access to international arbitration and free availability of foreign currency. It is the most solid regulatory framework Argentina has offered in decades.
30
YEARS
Export license
RIGI framework: up to 30 years of fiscal, customs and FX stability. Free availability of foreign currency. International arbitration.
+
100+
YEARS
Infrastructure lifespan
Designed and built for over a century of operation with minimal maintenance. A generational asset.
=
100+
YEARS OF INFRASTRUCTURE LIFESPAN
30-year export license + extension · Designed to last 100+ years
The infrastructure is designed for 100+ years of useful life. The export license is 30 years, renewable. In present value of cash flows with take-or-pay contracts, this is critical to the investor's return equation.
Financial logic
The project's numbers
Estimated CAPEX
USD 15 Billion — total estimated project investment. Definitive parameters in data-room process.
TIR objetivo
~13.5% IRR — retorno estimado del proyecto. Infraestructura de largo plazo con contratos take-or-pay en mercados de alta demanda.
Revenue model
Tarifas de transporte + contratos de suministro con take-or-pay + márgenes de comercialización + contratos de capacidad a lo largo de 100+ años.
Participation
The project is in pre-FID structuring phase. The shareholding composition is being defined. Early-stage entry offers the greatest value appreciation potential in the development cycle.
Fiscal stability
RIGI: 30 years of fiscal and FX protection. Free availability of foreign currency. International arbitration. Adhesion deadline extended to July 2027.
The resource is in place. The customers are in place. The consortium is structured. GASBRA is one of the most significant energy infrastructure projects in Latin America this decade.
Institutional contact
For additional information, data-room access or institutional participation inquiries.