U.S.-based LNG player Sempra Energy said it has been awarded a transportation contract by the Comision Federal de Electricidad to build, own and operate a $2.1 billion natural gas pipeline in Mexico.
The contract has been awarded trough Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG), a joint venture between Sempra’s Mexican unit Infraestructura Energética Nova, and TransCanada Corporation,
The 42-inch diameter South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline will have a capacity of 2.6 billion cubic feet per day and an anticipated in-service date of late 2018. It will be approximately 497-mile (800 kilometer) long, according to Sempra.
The pipeline will transport natural gas from a point near Brownsville, Texas , to Tuxpan , Veracruz , and it will provide natural gas to new and existing CFE power plants that currently use fuel oil. The project is contracted by CFE under a 25-year capacity contract denominated in U.S. dollars.
IMG will be responsible for implementing the project, including permitting, acquiring land and rights of way, engineering, procurement, construction, financing, operation and maintenance. Infraestructura Energética Nova holds a 40 percent ownership of IMG’s joint venture.