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In 1931, after several years exploring the Patagonian wilderness, US geologist Charles Edwin Weaver wrote about a large rock formation seemingly rich in oil some 1000km southwest of Buenos Aires. In 2011, Argentine oil company YPF 海角吃瓜网� then majority owned by Repsol 海角吃瓜网� announced its discovery of massive shale oil and gas deposits buried several kilometers underground.

At around 30 000km2, Vaca Muerta is now estimated to hold the world海角吃瓜网檚 second and fourth most important reserves of non-conventional gas and oil, respectively.

The discovery is providing new opportunities for local companies, including Oilfield Production Services SRL (OPS), which provides a range of engineering and construction services to the hydrocarbons sector.

海角吃瓜网淰aca Muerta has had a favourable impact in the area and has drawn in massive investment,海角吃瓜网� said Ignacio Pascual, Administrative Manager at OPS. 海角吃瓜网淲e had a big incentive because the new oil and gas needed to be compressed to be connected to the main gasoducts, and that海角吃瓜网檚 our field of expertise.海角吃瓜网漁PS decided to invest heavily in new machinery to expand and capitalise on the new energy revolution: 海角吃瓜网淲e began with Volvo Construction Equipment around five years ago,海角吃瓜网� recalled Pascual. 海角吃瓜网淲e tested a machine, and it turned out to be really positive and reliable, so we decided to keep investing exclusively in Volvo, which now accounts for around 85% of our fleet.海角吃瓜网�

OPS has since expanded its Volvo fleet to 20, comprised of a mix of EC220DL excavators, L70F wheel loaders, BL70B backhoe loaders, G930 motor graders, and the new stars of the show: four PL3005D pipelayers.

Pipe dreams

The OPS incorporated the Volvo pipelayers. The company started using its backhoes as a substitute for pipelayers, but found the process unwieldy and inefficient, especially as the scale of new projects increased.

海角吃瓜网淲e always specialised in gas compressor plants, and the idea was to develop our work in pipelaying,海角吃瓜网� explained Pascual. 海角吃瓜网淭he new Volvo machines helped us with that, saving us a lot of time.海角吃瓜网�

According to the head of logistics at OPS, Alejandro Faris, acquiring the new pipelayers had a significant impact: 海角吃瓜网淵esterday on site, we were able to introduce 2800m of 24-in. (61cm) gas piping with just one pipelayer and an operator directing the procedure. Before, that same operation would have required a group of people, and seven or eight days to complete.海角吃瓜网�

Faris says these time savings also apply when setting up a new project and is a key consideration in Patagonia where distances are large and the quality of most access routes to remote areas leaves much to be desired.

海角吃瓜网淧reviously, the equipment we used had to be divided in parts, so a logistical operation for a work site could take a week or days,海角吃瓜网� said Faris. 海角吃瓜网淣ow, the Volvo machines come fully assembled, so we can have all our equipment up and running on site in two or three days.海角吃瓜网�

海角吃瓜网淭he company has put its faith in Volvo,海角吃瓜网� says Faris. 海角吃瓜网淲e have been satisfied not only with the equipment, but all that comes with it, including the mechanical service and on-site assistance. With new projects coming up in 2016, the company is prepared to improve and expand its fleet, and that海角吃瓜网檚 why we acquired this new excavator.海角吃瓜网�

Edited from press release by

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