Construction on the most difficult section of the 250 km Gasoducto Cochabamba Carrasco (GCC) is currently underway in Bolivia. A consortium of IST, Sepretbol and Conpropet are carrying out construction on the section of pipeline between Villa Tunari and Pampatambo, which will link the first and third sections of the pipeline.

The GCC is being developed by Bolivia’s state petroleum company YPFB and is designed to transport gas from Cochabamba to Carrasco in the country’s west to supply growing demand. The 16 inch diameter pipeline has three sections:

  • Section 1 Carrasco – Villa Tunari (108 km);
  • Section 2 Villa Tunari – Pampatambo (78 km); and,
  • Section 3 Pampatambo - Cochabamba (65 km).

According to YPFB Transport Vice President of National Operations Ramon Navas, the second section of the pipeline is considered the most difficult because it crosses through Sillar, the most geologically unstable area located in the Cochabamba – La Paz section.

“The construction is further complicated by the topography as the pipeline traverses the Chapare and the Andean highlands. In part of the mountain range in Cochabamba there is going to be work completed from 300–3,500 m above sea level,” said Mr Navas.

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The pipeline went through the area called ‘The chair’, which is considered the most complicated by the rugged terrain, with many geotechnical risk and high rainfall.

The second Section of the pipeline will also cross a number of rivers. Most of the rivers will be crossed using horizontal directional drilling technology, while the remainder will be crossed using open excavations.

“The great difficulty on this section of the pipeline is the number of river crossings combined with areas of the pipeline route which are geologically unstable. There will be many challenges during construction but we will try to maintain control and undertake preventative measures to mitigate the possible risk of interruptions,” said Mr Navas.

Phase I of the pipeline was commissioned in June 2010, with Phase II expected to conclude in April 2012.