Central Termica Agua del Cajon

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The Central Termica Agua del Cajon project was owned and operated by Capex, a subsidiary of Argentine oil and gas company Companias Asociadas Petroleras (Capsa), and had an installed capacity of 371-MW in an area located in the Province of Neuquen. The project was developed in four phases at a total cost of US$160 million. In the first phase 96-MW were installed and in the second, at the end of 1992, 144-MW were added. In the third one, 131-MW were installed in May 1995. In the fourth and last phase, in December 1995, a plant to inject water to turbines was installed in order to reduce the pollution generated by the turbines. The project’s generation of electricity is integrated with the exploitation of gas. Capex sold 65% of its electricity output to Mercado a Termino, the rest to the spot market. In March 1997, El Paso Energy International acquired a 29% equity stake in Astra Capsa which owned 55% of Capex. Westinghouse International Service Company has a four year management contract with Capex to operate the facility. By 2003, United States-based El Paso Corporation controled 27% of Capsa/Capex. Combining electricity and gas production has enabled project profitability greater than 50%. None