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Of course, Live! I appreciate your appreciation (If you see me reacting to you with poo or clown emojis, know that it is because I am trying to beat someone to the punch 🙂)
Yes sir! I do still have my fingers crossed. I keep going back to how Silva said they have the “technologist.”
https://energiaadebate-com.translate.goog/concluira-tamaulipas-este-ano-estudios-tecnicos-para-almacenamiento-de-gas-en-campo-brasil/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
When I saw Geostock was involved, that was a bit of a scare at first. But I don’t think the sole technologist would be Geostock since they were brought on in Feb 2024 (https://mexicobusiness.news/energy/news/sedener-tamaulipas-signs-agreement-geostock)
and they intend to be done with the technical aspect and part of the permits by the end of this year.
I’ve looked into it, and from what I see it seems that Geostock’s role tends to be more of a support and assistance type of job. This document lists many projects they’ve been involved in, and they have never been the sole developers on a project - other companies have always been involved.
https://www.geostockgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/rapport_annuel_2021.pdf
For example, with their other project in Mexico - the Shalapa LPG storage, they provided assistance for Cydsa.
Look at the bottom paragraph of this article describing the multiple companies involved in this Turkey natural gas storage project.
https://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/tuz-golu-underground-gas-storage-project/
With a project the size of the Brasil field, I’d imagine there would similarly be enough room for multiple groups, organizations, and companies to be involved.
As of June they were in "the stage of basic engineering development and permit management before federal instances."
https://www-elsoldetampico-com-mx.translate.goog/local/regional/cenagas-impulsa-tres-proyectos-de-gas-en-tamaulipas-con-inversion-de-2-mil-500-millones-de-pesos-12129650.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
I believe they’re just creating some basic diagrams and specs, as well as working with the appropriate Mexican governmental organizations to work toward granting permits. Look at the “basic design” section of the Geostock website https://www.geostockgroup.com/expertises/ingenierie/#les-reconnaissances-complementaires
So I still have hope.
Or maybe it is a big scam. Guess we’ll see 🙂
NFE Targets First Altamira LNG Shipment by Mid-August
By Jacob Dick on August 05, 2024 at 1:35 p.m.
The first cargo of Texas natural gas liquefied in Mexico could be heading from the east coast to an import terminal on the country’s isolated Pacific Coast by mid-August, according to New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE).
The company disclosed Friday it was expected to end the commissioning process of its 1.4 million metric tons/year (mmty) capacity Fast LNG (FLNG) facility offshore Altamira by Aug. 9. After commissioning ends, NFE expects its first cargo to be loaded on the Energos Princess and delivered to the Pichilingue liquefied natural gas import terminal in La Paz on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
NFE has a supply agreement with Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to provide up to 0.3 mmty of LNG to the import terminal in southern Baja California. A non-free trade agreement permit for NFE’s FLNG projects and proposed onshore trains at Altamira are currently paused by the U.S. Department of Energy, limiting exports to the company’s customer base in North America, the Caribbean and South America.
“Being able to supply our customers with our own LNG has been a goal for the company for many years,” CEO Wes Edens said. “Natural gas and power supply are critical components of a sustainable, affordable and cleaner energy system and we are grateful to now be able to provide an end-to-end solution for our customers.”
Following its first shipment, NFE said the unit will undergo scheduled maintenance for several days before ramping up to full production by the end of the month.
Adbutler in-article ad placement
NFE updated its target for the first LNG cargo shipment last month after disclosing it had reached first production at the facility. Delays in installation and a malfunction in April have pushed the project’s timeline by several months.
In July, the company closed a $700 million loan for a second FLNG unit, being developed in partnership with CFE. Completion of the second unit was targeted for the first half of 2026.
The FLNG units and successive onshore phases are supplied feed gas by CFE’s gas marketing arm, CFEnergía, from the Agua Dulce Hub in South Texas via the Valley Crossing pipeline. CFE transports volumes on the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline.
NGI’s forward fixed prices at Agua Dulce for September delivery were $1.598/MMBtu as of Friday. Summer 2025 prices were trading at $2.535. Agua Dulce basis prices were quoted 46 cents below Henry Hub for summer 2024, and 49.3 cents below the benchmark for summer 2025.
Related Tags
New Fortress Energy
Altamira LNG
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Here you go -
Article from yesterday - https://globalenergy.mx/noticias-especiales/coberturas/tamaulipas-busca-ser-el-primer-estado-100-electrificado/
"Currently, the state of Tamaulipas is developing various projects with the aim of promoting technical, economic, social and energy development, such as the investment of 152 million pesos to achieve total electrification of the state by 2025. Likewise, the construction of a natural gas storage system , a natural gas liquefaction terminal for export to Europe, Central and South America; and the development of the Trión field, which has an investment of more than 12,000 million dollars."
Also, if you closely look at the picture of Silva at the top you can see one of the 12 strategic projects being displayed is "systema de almacenamiento de gas natural" - system of storage of natural gas (might need to use your phone and zoom in to make it out).
It was never done. Nor was the Jaf field put to tender in July 2023. From what I heard Alipi is not the best source.
As for the Brasil field, we are waiting until 2025 to see who is involved / for them to launch the tender.
https://energiaadebate.com/concluira-tamaulipas-este-ano-estudios-tecnicos-para-almacenamiento-de-gas-en-campo-brasil/
Although it does appear Mexico plans on tendering the Jaf field soon. This project showed up in the projects registry a week ago.
https://www.proyectosmexico.gob.mx/proyecto_inversion/0949-campo-jaf-de-almacenamiento-estrategico/
https://boletin-gestor.cenagas.gob.mx/portal/licitaciones.html
lol, thanks Shaj
My birthday is also this Sunday so that’s a good sign lol. But really, IMHO I think you’re overthinking it. Mexico has the documented obligation to reach 45 BcF of storage by 2026.
https://www.gob.mx/cenagas/acciones-y-programas/proyecto-de-almacenamiento-estrategico-156833
Considering it would take 2 years to complete it, they’d have to get started pretty soon. There’s pressure from many different groups, organizations, businesses, etc. to get it done. Also pressure from the state of Tamaulipas at this point. Is it possible Claudia just holds everything up? I guess so. Is it possible the project does happen, but we are not involved? Again, I guess so, but it would be very odd seeing that so much work has been done by Mirage concerning the Brasil field, which you yourself have admitted. There’s just no way to know until the companies involved in the Brasil storage project are announced.
Real rundown:
Basically, there is a lot of talk in Mexico about the need for natural gas storage. (What else is new?) They are looking to finalize the agreement for the Brasil field by the end of AMLO's administration, and seek an investor consortium in 2025. We will have to see how that pans out. In the meantime, we are supposed to be closing on oil wells. Been hearing about that for a while. Will it happen? I honestly don't know, but that would be a bonus in any case. The main action would happen during the next administration.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173807410
No, they have not completed the expansion. According to this website, the start year is 2026.
https://www.gem.wiki/Energia_Mayakan_Pipeline#cite_note-:7-10
https://app-cfe-mx.translate.goog/Aplicaciones/OTROS/Boletines/boletin?i=3779&_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
I hear you. But we are talking about the same country that never executed the third infrastructure package - despite AMLO saying it would be announced before the end of January 2022, the same country that has failed to execute on any natural gas storage despite talking about it for 25 years. The same country that took years to come to an agreement with the French company Engie over the expansion of the Mayakan pipeline, to the point that it appeared the project was no longer happening.
If the pre-work and research has indeed been done, I truly can't see them being that picky. As for the filings, as we've seen, it is entirely possible for us to get completely caught up in a short period. We have at least until the next administration, so we have some months. Silva has stated that the geological evaluation of the Brasil field has already been done. Where else would these blueprints that would have taken years of research have come from?
Here is a research article from 2019 that considers the possible scenarios of getting gas into the Brasil field.
http://www.ptolomeo.unam.mx:8080/xmlui/handle/132.248.52.100/17126
(The following list and image taken from page 68 - 69 of the document.)
The possible ways it lists are:
1) Supply through the National Gas Pipeline System operated by the SISTRANGAS Reynosa-Matamoros section, delivering production from the north of the country, from the CPG Burgos.
2) Supply through the Rio Bravo import point, through an interconnection with the
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company.
3) Natural gas delivery through Brownsville import point fueling.
4) Supply through the Concho-El Progreso gas pipeline planned by the Mirage company, designed as a new import point in the northern part of the country in Nuevo Progreso, the pipeline includes taking natural gas from the Waha hub to the Agua Dulce hub and from that point take it to Mexico.
My understanding is that Mexico won't be producing enough gas on its own to be able to fill up the field, so #1 can be eliminated. As for #2, the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan. I have looked into it and have found nothing regarding Kinder Morgan being involved in Mexico natural gas storage - at least nothing comparable to the Brasil field. For example, take this article from 2019 - https://www.naturalgasintel.com/kinder-morgan-to-offer-storage-solutions-for-mexico-natural-gas-shippers/ and this article from this year - https://www.naturalgasintel.com/mexico-lng-exports-driving-bullish-natural-gas-outlook-for-kinder-morgan/ (I have the full article text, if anyone wants it.) The first article mentions a 4Bcf project near Phoenix, AZ. The second focuses on US storage.
I guess it's possible another company steals the research we've already done, but that wouldn't be an issue with us. Also, Ward is aware of this and has taken precautions to minimize the chance of this happening. Obviously times have been rough, but I see nothing that should automatically take us out of the running. Regarding the oil wells, I hear he still plans on closing on them. And even if he didn't, I wouldn't view it as a death knell for all the reasons listed above. We will have to wait and see what happens in the next administration, at which point we should at least have closure.
As you've told me before, "there's always hope with a new administration." If the innumerable articles about natural gas storage are to be believed, Mexico needs it and pretty badly. We know that there has been tons of research done by / paid for / assembled by Mirage. We also know that they have a "very clear draft and blueprint of the wells that we need to drill to set up the injection headers and create all the necessary infrastructure for the project." I personally am hopeful we will be included somewhere in the mix.
BTW, Claudia Sheinbaum was in Tamaulipas a couple days ago and mentioned natural gas storage.
"She also noted that “there are the two systems, either BRT or Trolleybus that we have been proposing, in the case of this area, well, part of it is in the north, on the border, which I announced the day we were in that area. area, particularly in Reynosa and elsewhere, is for the municipalities of Altamira, Madero and Tampico, that we can have a public transportation system that communicates, that we are going to support the governor to develop it; and natural gas storage projects, the fertilizer plant, the development of the Port of Matamoros; in addition to what the Port of Tampico would represent as tourism; the Customs Building that is being completed on the border; and the International Port of Nuevo Laredo, which we also announced at the time.”
https://www.maspormas.com/nacional/claudia-sheinbaum-visita-tamaulipas-y-veracruz/
Here is a video of the whole conference (translated subtitles available) - the above excerpt takes place around 3:10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWhCTDgqxhM
Here's the full article
NGI MEXICO GPI
INFRASTRUCTURE | MEXICO | NGI ALL NEWS ACCESS | SHALE DAILY
Mexico Lagging Behind Peer Markets in Natural Gas Storage, Report Warns
BY ANDREW BAKER
April 22, 2024
Mexico’s next government must invest in natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure in order to keep up with rising demand and meet energy transition goals, according to a new report by the Instituto Mexicano Para la Competitividad (IMCO) think tank.
Mexico is the world’s eighth largest natural gas market, with demand in excess of 8 Bcf/d. However, its natural gas storage capacity is a fraction of that of similar sized markets such as Germany or Italy, researchers said.
Despite the widespread global use of underground gas storage in depleted reservoirs, confined aquifers and salt caverns, Mexico only stores gas in its liquid form at the Altamira, Ensenada and Manzanillo liquefied natural gas import terminals, “which have limited capacity,” the IMCO team said in a report titled, Proposals for the Energy We Want 2024-2030.
The policy roadmap comes ahead of Mexico’s general election scheduled for June 2. Claudia Sheinbaum, a close ally of current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is heavily favored to win.
The IMCO authors cited that Mexico is only able to store about 2.4 days’ worth of gas consumption, while Germany – which consumes nearly the same amount of gas – boasts 89 days’ worth.
Despite multiple announcements of plans to develop storage capacity, little progress has been made, IMCO said.
Mexico’s Centro Nacional de Control del Gas Natural (Cenagas), operator of the Sistrangas pipeline grid, said last year it planned to launch a tender to develop storage capacity at the depleted Jaf natural gas field in Veracruz state.
More recently, state power company Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) said it was seeking bids to develop underground storage capacity in South Texas. Mexico imports about 71% of its gas supply from the United States.
In addition to storage capacity, Mexico “requires more pipeline infrastructure to transport natural gas throughout the country,” researchers said. They cited long-delayed projects such as the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, originally slated to enter service in 2017, but remains incomplete due to local opposition.
“In the foreseeable future, natural gas will remain a key fuel for industrial activities in Mexico, as well as a pillar of the electric generation mix,” researchers said. “Therefore, it is indispensable to guarantee its uninterrupted supply through more investments in pipelines and to implement a storage policy that allows the country to gradually approach the days of inventory of countries like Germany, Austria, Spain, France or Italy.”
The authors also stressed the importance of shoring up natural gas supply to southeastern Mexico through projects such as the Southeast Gateway offshore pipeline. CFE and Engie SA also reached an agreement last month to double the capacity of the Mayakán pipeline serving the Yucatán Peninsula.
In terms of gas supply, Mexico could increase its domestic production “without risking public resources” by resuming upstream bid rounds, which President Andrés Manuel López Obrador halted upon taking office in 2018, the IMCO team said.
IMCO suggested not replacing U.S. gas imports in the short-term, “but rather to gradually increase the production platform so that in the medium term, the country is in a better position to face climatic events without putting energy security at risk.”
© 2024 Natural Gas Intelligence. All rights reserved.
ISSN © 2577-9877 | ISSN © 2577-9966 | ISSN © 2158-8023
Related topics: Infrastructure Mexico natural gas storage
ANDREW BAKER
@abakerNGI
andrew.baker@naturalgasintel.com
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/mexico-lagging-behind-peer-markets-in-natural-gas-storage-report-warns/
Not a terrible thing imo. Mexico has dragged their feet on implementing any storage project longer than anyone would have imagined, gotta pay the bills somehow
Yea, ATCO could be involved. Silva said “We are working on a plan that will include a public-private association between the CFE, a Canadian company that we can’t name at this time for compliance reasons, a Mexican group known as Grupo Fox, and the government of Tamaulipas.”
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171999531
And yes, waiting is all we can do. We should all be experts in that by now.
CYDSA also mentioned at the bottom here:
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173257601
"The problem is that in Mexico there is no consolidated market in the matter in Mexico. Although some companies have raised their hands for this type of project, Rosanety Barrios points out that they do not have any experience in the matter, so they would have to turn to international companies.
For example, Cydsa, a company from Monterrey, has shown interest in entering the natural gas storage market. Until now the company has developed some projects with Pemex, but for LP gas."
I don't think they would be competition for the Brasil field. They seem to be operating in a different sphere, that being liquefied petroleum gas. Check out this article from earlier this month.
Cydsa Sees Opportunity for Mexican Mont Belvieu
BY ADAM WILLIAMS
February 9, 2024
A glaring weak spot in the Mexico natural gas industry is the country’s lack of storage capacity. The issue is repeatedly discussed and considered a risk to national energy security, as Mexico has less than two days’ worth of storage capacity and is vulnerable to unforeseen weather or geopolitical events.
According to Raul Puente, the Managing Director of Underground Storage for Grupo Cydsa, the Monterrey-based company has identified an opportunity to dramatically increase Mexico’s storage capacity and create the country’s own version of Mont Belvieu, the most important hub for natural gas liquids such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the United States.
“In the plot of land that we have, where we have the cavern where we store LPG for Pemex TRI since November 2017, we have three caverns that are ready for storage that are developed and have a total of capacity for 8.8 million bbl or, in natural gas terms, 10 Bcf of capacity,” Puente told NGI’s Mexico GPI. “On this same plot of land, we have the possibility to develop up to 10 additional caverns, which would mean 14 total caverns that could store hydrocarbons.”
He added, “The long-term vision we have is to develop a Mont Belvieu, similar to the one outside of Houston.”
Puente has worked as a director at Cydsa since 2015, where he has led the Underground Storage of Hydrocarbons business unit and actively participated in starting the LPG storage commercial operation. He is also a member of the Energy Commission of CAINTRA, which represents industrialists in Nuevo León state, and Vice President of Natural Gas in the National Energy Commission of Mexican employers confederation COPARMEX.
Previously, Puente worked as a director at Aon México and as a risk manager at building materials conglomerate Cemex. He holds a Master’s degree in business administration from the Tecnológico de Monterrey, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and an MBA from the University of Texas in Austin.
Editor’s Note: NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index, a leading tracker of Mexico’s natural gas market reform, offers the following Q&A column as part of a series of periodic interviews with market experts of natural gas in Mexico. Puente is the 120th expert to participate in the series.
NGI: In a recent energy conference in Monterrey, you spoke about Grupo Cydsa’s role in the energy sector and the company’s natural gas and hydrocarbons storage projects. Can you tell us some about the company and the current projects in the energy industry?
Puente: Grupo Cydsa has five distinct business lines. We have three businesses that are specialized in chemical operations. The first is salt, which is extracted from the earth and where we conduct what is known as solution mining. And that’s what creates the space beneath the ground and the cavity which we later use as a cavern that provides an option for hydrocarbons storage. So, salt — for industrial and consumption purposes — is a main area of our business. Our brand, La Fina, is very visible and well known in Mexico and can be found just about anywhere in the country.
We also have IQUISA, which stands for Industria Quimica del Istmo. In IQUISA, we take the salt and separate the sodium — the Na— from the chlorine — the Cl. We use the sodium to make caustic soda and chlorine, which has multiple applications. IQUISA has five plants throughout the country, three that make the caustic soda and chlorine, and two more that make specialty products that are derived from the caustic soda and chlorine.
In Monterrey, we also have Quimobasicos, a plant of refrigerant gasses for the automotive industry and the residential industry. We produce some of the gasses and source the rest from our partner Honeywell.
In the energy sector, Cydsa has two cogeneration plants, and we generate electricity that is used by IQUISA to do the electrolysis to separate the sodium from the chlorine. The steam that is produced by the cogeneration plants is used in the salt business to evaporate and separate the salt from the water to create the final product. We have a very interesting vertical integration there.
The newest business Grupo Cydsa has in the energy sector is the business of underground storage. The business started with the storage of LPG with a contract that we signed with Pemex and started commercial operation in 2017. The cogeneration plants began in 2014 and 2016, while the other Grupo Cydsa business lines have been around and existed for 79 years.
Our hydrocarbons underground storage business began commercial operation with Pemex TRI in November 2017. We currently have a cavern that stores LP Gas with a total capacity of 1.8 million bbl, which is completely reserved by Pemex TRI. We provide storage of this critical hydrocarbon, and we are a very strategic and relevant link in the logistic value chain that Pemex TRI has, given the company’s issues with fuel theft and other potential operational problems that they might face. The storage cavern is the buffer that allows Pemex TRI to guarantee continuity in the supply of LPG.
NGI: In the Monterrey conference, you mentioned that Grupo Cydsa has long-term hydrocarbon storage plans. Can you tell us about the plans the company has?
Puente: The LPG cavern is located between two municipalities that are located about 10 kilometers south of Coatzacoalcos in the state of Veracruz. On that plot of land, the long-term vision we have is to develop a Mont Belvieu, like the one outside of Houston, TX. This would be done in proportion to the land available and would obviously include the realities of the Mexican market, which is distinct from the U.S.
Mont Belvieu has more than 150 caverns and can store…600 million bbl. It’s a monster of an industrial park for storage of liquids. As previously mentioned, we have three caverns that are ready for storage that are developed and have a total capacity of 8.8 million bbl for liquids or, in natural gas terms, 10 Bcf of capacity. So, that’s more than a day’s worth of storage capacity for the country and could be the first steps Mexico takes towards building operational and strategic underground storage.
We made these three caverns on the heels of the momentum that we had after signing the first contract with Pemex TR,I and we saw an opportunity in the medium term to continue to provide opportunities for storage capacity for hydrocarbons. Given our salt business, we are going to permanently continue to extract salt from the earth and create caverns that would be available for underground storage development.
And, on this same plot of land, we have the possibility to develop up to 10 additional caverns, which would mean 14 total caverns that could store hydrocarbons. We anticipate and are hopeful that there will be continued demand for hydrocarbons storage from the energy sector in the area in the near future.
So, in our vision, we see a significant growth opportunity for the development of hydrocarbon storage in our caverns.
NGI: And of the three available caverns you mentioned that Cydsa has for hydrocarbon storage, how are they being utilized currently?
Puente: You could say they are on standby. They are currently full of brine, and we are maintaining them so that they are active and in adequate conditions to receive hydrocarbons in the near future.
NGI: And is Cydsa looking for a partner or an offer to utilize this storage?
Puente: In simple forms, we’re looking to replicate the first storage project we did with Pemex TRI. The first project is a long-term one, anchored by a government entity. This is the only way that someone is going to be willing to invest in a long-term project. This would be through a take-or-pay contract, regulated, with acceptable profit margins, and that is financed.
So, what are we looking for? We are looking for a potential customer that is willing to anchor a long-term project with a 20- to 30-year contract. With this deal, the contract is the source of the repayment and financing is required because it’s a significant investment. The contract provides the certainty required to repay the financing costs, given that it generates a profit that is acceptable, regulated, and that is approved by the regulator and the client.
We’ve had talks with private companies, but the conditions are different. Let’s take Mont Belvieu for example. In Mont Belvieu, that capacity was developed more than 50 years ago. There’s a waiting list for companies that want to enter and reserve capacity in a cavern to store the hydrocarbon of their choice. There are constantly companies entering and leaving, and one company substitutes for another and assumes the capacity space they had reserved. It’s a very active and very liquid market. But in most cases, a single company almost never occupies the entire space available with their capacity alone, and therefore there are multiple players that occupy a cavern to account for the entire capacity available.
So, the only way for a large-scale hydrocarbons storage project to be developed well is for the anchor customer to be a government related entity, such as CENAGAS, Pemex or CFE. This would be a similar model to how all the natural gas transport infrastructure is being done through anchored contracts currently in Mexico.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/cydsa-sees-opportunity-for-mexican-mont-belvieu-%EF%BF%BC/
Yet another article about storage. Hopefully Mexico finally pays this "historical debt" it owes to its people.
Why Mexico needs natgas storage facilities
Bnamericas
Published: Friday, February 09, 2024
Building Mexico’s first natural gas storage project “is a historical debt that this government has with Mexicans,” according to energy expert Gonzalo Monroy, who manages energy consultancy GMEC.
A project to guarantee supply for power plants has been needed for more than 20 years but regulation, bureaucracy and a nonexistent business scheme for its commercialization in the country have hindered progress, Monroy told BNamericas in an interview.
“The big problem is that business models have not been developed, in addition to legal issues. That is the reason why this project has not progressed,” he said, adding that a few issues regarding regulation in the constitution were solved after gas network operator Cenagas was created by the 2013 energy reform.
But despite the natural gas crisis that Mexico experienced in 2021, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration did not prioritize storage. The leftist leader’s term ends in October.
During the February 2021 Uri winter storm, which brought freezing temperatures to North America, factories across Mexico’s northern region – Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon states – reported billions in losses due to a reversal in the flow of US natural gas into Mexico.
Natural gas is Mexico’s main fuel source, accounting for 52% of power generation, and about 70% is imported from the US, according to a report from the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
In a report published in 2022, economics think thank IMCO suggested three measures to guarantee natgas supply. The first was to carry out studies, the second to build storage facilities and the third to update storage policies.
"The country has only 2.4 days of natural gas storage in three facilities [but in LNG tanks]. This figure is below the average storage days of countries such as Austria (318.3), France (98.8), Italy (93.8) or Spain (34.2)," IMCO said.
The first project
Asked about the possibility that Cenagas could launch a tender next year for the first storage facility designed for natural gas, in the conventional Brasil field of the Burgos basin in northeast state Tamaulipas, Monroy told BNamericas that the work “is urgent.”
According to media reports, Mexican authorities are working on studies to launch the tender. While details are yet to be revealed, Cenagas has projected potential storage capacity of 495 billion cubic feet.
At the Brasil field, Tamaulipas energy development minister José Ramón Silva Arizabalo told news site Energía a Debate in recent days that state authorities are seeking to create a hub of energy projects, known as VolTam. However, federal power company CFE, which was expected to be the state government’s key partner, has not decided on the program’s model, nor has it assigned resources to begin the work.
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/features/why-mexico-needs-natgas-storage-facilities
I mean, it's lasted this long. What's another year
I'm with you about hoping they act quickly. I think they will get it done, Silva seems like a genuinely good dude who takes pride in his position. I've corresponded with him over email.
But also, hopefully this shows how Mexico is inconsistent with timelines, Ward isn't the only one 😉 Remember that summer article where Alipi said Jaf tender was going out ASAP and Brasil would be going out in December 2023? Looks like Mac was right about not believing him.
Shareholders would capitalize because all the negotiation has been done through the corporation and its subsidiaries.
Very interesting update on the Brasil field. They are aiming to secure an investor consortium by 2025 or initiate an international tender through CENEGAS. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out. One part that stuck out to me was Silva saying they have the "technologist."
Tamaulipas will conclude technical studies for gas storage in the Brazil field this year
He hopes to go out to look for the investment partner in 2025, or for Cenagas to launch the corresponding tender, said José Ramón Silva, head of Sedener.
by Ulises Juárez - February 7, 2024
The government of Tamaulipas will focus this year on concluding the technical part for the development of the natural gas storage project in the Brazil field, one of the strategic projects for the federal administration, with the aim of seeking the investment consortium in 2025. or, where appropriate, for Cenagas to launch the corresponding international tender.
“This year we want to leave the technical part completely in place and part of the permits,” said José Ramón Silva Arizabalo, Secretary of Energy Development of the government of Tamaulipas.
The official spoke with Energía a Debate within the framework of the Accreditation Delivery ceremony for the Tamaulipas Energy Sector Program 2023-2028, the first Program of its kind prepared by an entity at the national and international levels.
Silva explained that in 2024 it is also scheduled to advance the permits for this project.
He said that Brasil has two aspects for its development. On the one hand, the local administration has contemplated it in its package of energy and infrastructure projects, known as Voluntad Tamaulipeca (VolTam), which would go hand in hand with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), even though, he said, there is no Still, a budget allocated to the state company does not fully convince the model for its execution.
“There is another option that could be an association with the CFE, although in that sense CFE has seen that it is still not convinced by the model, so we believe that it will be through Cenagas,” he expressed.
He recalled that the National Natural Gas Control Center (Cenagas) considers the field as a strategic project for the energy security of the current federal government.
“We have the technologist, obviously; We have many interested investors, but [we want] to go out and formally look for a consortium for the detonation, whether Cenagas allows us to go out and look for investment, or whether Cenagas launches it in an international tender as a strategic project of the gas sector,” he commented.
The Brasil field, located in the Burgos Basin between the Tamaulipas municipalities of Reynosa and Matamoros, has an estimated storage capacity of 36 billion cubic feet, although initially around 10 percent of said capacity will be used.
Brasil is one of the four gas fields that the federal administration has contemplated to develop natural gas storage projects. The other three are Jaf, in Veracruz; Acuyo, in Chiapas, and Saramako, in Tabasco.
However, so far, none have been put out to tender.
The Tamaulipas Energy Sector Program is accredited
On Tuesday of this week, the Secretary of Energy, Miguel Ángel Maciel Torres, and the director of Sustainable Energy of the United Nations, Darío Liguti, delivered to the governor of the State of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal, the accreditation of the Energy Sector Program of the entity, which covers the period 2023-2028, and also a certificate that guarantees that the entity complies with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN 2030 Agenda.
In a ceremony held at the Training Center of the Ministry of Energy in Mexico City, Secretary Maciel Torres highlighted that Mexico needs a new paradigm of energy security to maintain reliability and acceptability, so the transition aimed at defossilization It must function for two purposes: to guarantee the energy services that the population demands, but on the path towards clean energy.
For his part, Governor Américo Villareal Anaya stressed that Tamaulipas has great development potential in terms of energy, in addition to being the first state to generate electrical energy at the national level.
In this sense, he highlighted that the entity generates 21 percent of the total national energy even though it has only exploited 7 percent of its natural resources for this purpose.
The event brought together federal and state officials, legislators and businessmen from the different branches of the energy sector and the signing of the Framework Collaboration Agreement between the State Secretariat of Energy Development and the Security, Energy and Environment Agency took place. (ASEA).
(The director of Sustainable Energy of the United Nations, Darío Liguti, delivers the certificate of compliance with the 17 SDGs to the governor of Tamaulipas, Américo Villarreal)
At the time, José Ramón Silva, head of the state Energy Development Secretariat, reiterated that Tamaulipas is the first national and international entity that has certification of compliance with the SDGs.
“Let it be confirmed and that you will witness this great achievement of a Mexican state that reaches the international level and that it is not to have one more certification, but rather it is to change the paradigms that the energy transition means,” he addressed the audience. .
The ceremony was attended by the director of ASEA, Ángel Carrizales López; the representative of the International Center of Excellence for Sustainable Resource Management ICE.SRM, Ulises Neri Flores; the president commissioner of the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), Agustín Díaz Lastra, and Carlos Morales Mar, corporate director of Operations of the CFE, representing the general director of that Commission, Manuel Bartlett Díaz.
https://energiaadebate.com/concluira-tamaulipas-este-ano-estudios-tecnicos-para-almacenamiento-de-gas-en-campo-brasil/
Another article about the recent conference. 25 years and nothing yet!
Mexico Natural Gas Market Growth Said Challenged by Lack of Storage, Uneven Regulation
BY ADAM WILLIAMS
January 30, 2024
Representatives from some of Mexico’s most important natural gas supply, transport and storage companies are optimistic that the national industry is poised to continue to grow.
Mexico natural gas demand is set to expand 4.6% annually during the next decade, according to forecasts by national pipeline system operator Cenagas.
Mexico has a number of liquefied natural gas export projects planned. They would all use U.S. natural gas.
Covarrubias added that the Mexican natural gas market is “very solid” and “very strong.”
Raul Puente, general director of Mexico’s Grupo Cydsa, highlighted the cost-competitiveness of natural gas and Mexico’s proximity to some of the world’s most prolific basins including a robust pipeline network interconnected with the United States.
“Mexico has an enormous demand and need for natural gas that will continue growing as the country seeks to further gasify more regions,” Puente said. “It’s also a clean fuel that is going to be part of our energy matrix as we continue evolving our model towards cleaner sources.”
Challenges Remain
One principal challenge that continues to be unresolved in the Mexican natural gas industry is the lack of underground storage capacity, the panelists agreed.
Despite repeated calls by sector leaders to expand natural gas storage in the country to bolster energy security, Mexico still lacks sufficient inventory to cover the country’s gas needs for more than a day or two in the event of an emergency or dramatic spike in demand.
Line packing and LNG import terminals account for all the nation’s storage options. Mexico is seen as particularly vulnerable as it imports 70-80% of its natural gas needs via pipeline from the United States.
“We’ve been talking for 25 years about the subject of storage and, as of today, the development and implementation of large-scale storage in the country still hasn’t materialized,” Puente said.
Authorities have identified the depleted Jaf dry gas field in Veracruz as one potential option. Officials at Cenagas said in a first phase the field could hold a potential 11 Bcf of gas, or equivalent to a little over a day’s demand.
The depleted Brasil oil and gas field in northeastern Tamaulipas is another option. The government of Tamaulipas has said the project would be in conjunction with Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and a consortium of national and international companies.
The Brasil project would grow from 5 Bcf in an initial phase to 31.5 Bcf by its third year in operation. It would allow for 32 days of regional demand, or three days of national demand.
Covarrubias added that, to develop natural gas storage facilities and inventory in the country, private-public partnerships are required for such projects, and require significant capital.
“These are very complex projects that require a very important investment of capital and the government can’t do them alone,” she said. “It has to be a joint effort between the private sector and the government that focuses specifically on improving natural gas storage, which will be key to our future economic growth.”
Martínez explained that regulatory certainty and clarity is also a significant challenge facing the industry currently and must be improved to facilitate the economic boom.
“I think that what we need more than anything is a regulatory model that is the most efficient and most integrated as possible,” he said. “With more efficiency, permits could be processed within the time frames required by law. In terms of more integration, Mexico’s energy model should be seen more as an integrated value chain, which would improve some current disconnections that exist among different parts of the value chain.”
© 2023 Natural Gas Intelligence. All rights reserved.
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/mexico-natural-gas-market-growth-said-challenged-by-lack-of-storage-uneven-regulation/
The link works if you're already logged in to LinkedIn, but takes you to a login prompt to sign into Mac's LinkedIn if you aren't!
This is what Mac was linking to:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eduardo-prud-homme-11967636_mexico-energy-projects-powering-ahead-in-activity-7157644738240606209-nmvb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
A new article mentioning the Brasil field. So they're trying to finalize the agreement by the end of AMLO's administration. Hopefully we're in the mix. I'd be floored if we weren't honestly. José Ramón Silva Arizabalo, the state energy commissioner, said they have a "very clear draft and blueprint of the wells that we need to drill to set up the injection headers and create all the necessary infrastructure for the project." I know a lot of time and money went into research, and I don't know who else would have provided this.
Natural Gas Said Key as Mexican States Jockey for Position in Nearshoring Opportunity
BY CHRISTOPHER LENTON
January 24, 2024
Mexican states are working to lure nearshoring investment from international firms, and access to natural gas is pivotal, officials said at an energy conference in Monterrey, Nuevo León, on Wednesday.
“Natural gas is here to completely change our state,” general director Carlos Adrián Garcia of Campeche state’s energy agency said at the 9th Mexican Infrastructure Projects Forum.
Earlier this month, Campeche authorities signed an agreement with energy multinational Engie SA to bring natural gas to the state through the Cuxtal II pipeline. Garcia said it would lead to the development of industrial parks in the southeastern state.
[Want to know how global LNG demand impacts North American fundamentals? To find out, subscribe to LNG Insight.]
“Natural gas is going to change our story. It will develop our matrix and make Campeche a strategic point in Mexico,” he said. The oil and gas producing state has yet to develop a natural gas downstream market.
Garcia added that the story of Nuevo León demonstrated the investment impact of natural gas. “In Nuevo León, industrial parks wouldn’t be a possibility without the availability of the molecule,” he said.
Booming Nuevo León
Nuevo León, bordering Texas, is at the front and center of what is being called nearshoring. The term refers to companies whose primary market is the United States moving their operations out of China and into Mexico.
The idea is to avoid supply chain disruptions and costly tariffs, both of which have caused the share of U.S. imports supplied by China to decline in recent years.
The state’s secretary of the economy Iván Rivas said during the conference that Monterrey alone had 240 industrial parks, with 40 more in construction. “The China-U.S. conflict means companies are coming to Mexico.”
He said 76% of all the nearshoring investment in Mexico was pouring into Nuevo León. Some 216 industrial projects were announced in 2021-2023, alone worth $45 billion in investment. The majority, or 31%, of these projects, were in the manufacturing sector, followed by the automotive business at 25%.
“All of this is leading to growing energy demand.” The area has seen power demand growth of 5.6% in the last three years, a few percentage points above the national average. A task force has been developed to identify demand needs, and how to finance and develop critical infrastructure.
Nuevo León also sent its officials out to the world to court companies in Asia, Europe and elsewhere.
Nuevo León’s undersecretary of investment at the ministry of economy, Emanuel Loo, highlighted the state’s attractiveness to foreign firms. “We have the cheapest natural gas in the world from Texas. We have gas and a surplus of energy,” he said.
Veracruz: Energy Hub
Veracruz in southeastern Mexico is a major industrial and energy hub. It is home to one of the nation’s major pipelines bringing in natural gas from Texas, the 2.6 Bcf/d Sur de Texas-Tuxpan underwater line.
“Natural gas is fundamental to the development of industrial parks,” said the state’s energy agency director, Rómulo Sánchez. The Texas-Tuxpan pipeline “brings in really competitive gas. And the infrastructure we have developed allows us to have gas availability.”
He highlighted the energy business in the region, with 39 active exploration and production contracts. This includes money being poured into natural gas fields like Ixachi and Lakach, an offshore project.
The state’s petrochemical business is growing, along with its gas processing centers and power production that exceeds 30,000 GWh/year. The 1 GW natural gas-fired combined cycle Tuxpan I is under construction.
There is also the interoceanic corridor project that would include industrial parks and a natural gas pipeline connecting the two coasts, Sánchez said. In terms of the energy transition, we “are promoting the use of natural gas” as well as sustainability and energy efficiency, he said.
“I believe that in Mexico we have one thing to do in natural gas: and that’s storage. We only have two days of storage,” Sánchez said. “There are a lot of opportunities for this.” He mentioned the depleted field Jaf in Veracruz as a potential site for a storage project.
Tamaulipas, Too
Tamaulipas, which neighbors Nuevo León to the east, also is building up its energy and port infrastructure as it seeks to lure investment.
Mirelle Segovia Martin of the state’s energy ministry said that Tamaulipas is developing its third port, called Puerto del Norte, to boost nearshoring opportunities. This is helping spur industrial and energy projects, she said.
“Natural gas is the fuel of the transition,” she said. “Natural gas is essential for industry and power projects.”
She added that the state was working to develop natural gas storage at the depleted Brasil oil and gas field, in conjunction with national pipeline system operator Cenagas. “This is a mega project,” she said. “We are looking to finalize the agreement by the end of this administration.”
Finally, she said that the New Fortress Energy Inc. liquefied natural gas export project offshore Altamira was 95% complete. “We are going to inaugurate it soon, and we welcome all of you to be there.”
© 2023 Natural Gas Intelligence. All rights reserved.
ISSN © 2577-9877 | ISSN © 2577-9966 | ISSN © 2158-8023
Related topics: natural gas exports
CHRISTOPHER LENTON
https://www.naturalgasintel.com/natural-gas-said-key-as-mexican-states-jockey-for-position-in-nearshoring-opportunity/
As you said, Mex is a free trade agreement country, so it wouldn't stop anything. Don't think it would really matter without da deal(s), but if anything it would help based on this article. Anything that helps LNG export projects increases the need for storage. Winter storms also helping.
LNG Export Uncertainty in the US Sparks Interest in Latin America
By Karin Dilge | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Mon, 01/29/2024 - 03:25
The uncertainty surrounding liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects in the United States could drive investment in liquefaction projects elsewhere, including Latin America, says energy industry service provider Baker Hughes.
The United States is the world's largest LNG exporter, but permit approval processes for new projects have slowed under President Joe Biden, who has pledged to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. According to the US Department of Energy, the review times for LNG export licenses have increased to 11 months or more, compared to the seven weeks during the government of former President Donald Trump.
"If we see any slowdown in the United States, it is clear that there are international projects that can take advantage of the opportunity, and we will continue to monitor the situation," says Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO, Baker Hughes.
Natural gas can be a pivotal transitional fuel in the drive toward decarbonization. There are eight active LNG export projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, requiring a combined capital expenditure of over US$32 billion, according to BNamericas' database. Moreover, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago are the only countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the necessary infrastructure to liquefy and export natural gas.
Mexico leads with four projects, including three on the Pacific coast, followed by Argentina with two, and Brazil and Suriname with one each. Three of the initiatives are already under construction, three are in the early design or feasibility stages, and two await a construction decision.
Areli Covarrubias, Commercial and Development Director, Sempra Infraestructura, foresees natural gas playing a crucial role in Mexico until 2040-2050, given its environmental advantages. Natural gas, for example, emits nearly 50% less CO2 than coal. However, the recent winter storm in the United States caused disruption in Mexico, showing the risks the latter country faces in achieving energy security due to its dependence on US gas imports. This has prompted a call for increased domestic production through exploration rounds and prioritized pipeline development for enhanced flexibility.
Warren Levy, CEO, Jaguar E&P, highlights the need for an industry plan to secure a less dependent relationship with the US, particularly amid nearshoring opportunities. Moreover, despite Mexico's competitive natural gas prices, uneven distribution and lack of access in the south create social disparities that should be addressed through comprehensive gas pipeline development.
"The climatic event of 2024 reaffirms the need to enhance national energy security, as official data estimates that about 80% of the national natural gas comes from shale (unconventional) sources produced in the United States," says the Mexican Association of Hydrocarbons Companies (AMEXHI).
The association proposes tapping into the reserves in Mexican fields to increase production in the medium and long term, thereby reducing dependence on US gas. In 2021, similar weather conditions led to restrictions on natural gas exports from the United States to Mexico, causing significant impacts on Mexican families and the economy, says Banxico.
As of September 2023, Mexico has 19,060km of pipelines, with 10,675km belonging to CENAGAS and 8,385km to private entities. The states with the most points to import gas are Tamaulipas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Baja California, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. According to SENER, there are three LNG storage and regasification terminals in the country: Altamira, with a natural gas discharge capacity of 760MMcf/d; Manzanillo, with 500MMcf/d; and Ensenada, with a capacity of 1,000MMcf/d.
Energy policy plays a crucial role in developing natural gas infrastructure. A clear and coherent policy is needed to encourage investment and innovation. Overcoming regulatory and political obstacles requires a proactive approach to facilitate infrastructure growth and modernization. Nevertheless, the current energy policy represents a challenge, as the government tries to strengthen PEMEX and CFE while reversing the participation of private companies in the market.
https://mexicobusiness.news/energy/news/lng-export-uncertainty-us-sparks-interest-latin-america
I did! And will gladly take more from anyone willing to sell at such low levels.
She actually may be better based on this article from a few days ago.
Lack of investment complicates Sheinbaum's plan to increase gas reserves
Although some projects were outlined during AMLO's government, none came to fruition. The challenge to promote renewable energies.
By Nadia Luna
15/11/2023
Claudia Sheinbaum, with a view to 2024, is already proposing a shift in energy policy - compared to AMLO's - focused on the transition to renewables, however her project poses a challenge: increasing the storage of natural gas, after an administration stopped the projects in this matter and the lack of a national market.
The Morenista candidate is clear about this. Just last week, in a meeting with businessmen in Monterrey, including Dionisio Garza Medina, Sheinbaum spoke of her interest in natural gas, a key element to promote the transition and electrification.
The situation is that Mexico currently has a deficit in natural gas: current production levels show a drop of 47% compared to its peak in 2010 and is insufficient for the demand for natural gas in Mexico, which is why the import of gas is required. that the United States provides. A dependency that may be subject to risks, such as the winter storm that hit Texas in 2021 and left CFE without gas.
Despite this context, specialists in LPO dialogue agreed that it is not advisable to bet on increasing national production; especially given the logic that eventually the country will have to stop depending on this hydrocarbon in the medium term - Sheinbaum's entourage considers at least 30 years.
"It is not good to have all your eggs in one basket or too many in one basket. From a practical point of view it is clearly advisable to have some type of energy security through diversification," explained energy sector expert David Rosales.
Coincidentally, Víctor Rodríguez, an academic at UNAM, explained that the country does not have large conventional deposits and they require high production costs. "Although Lackach has larger dimensions, it would not be profitable," he said.
On the other hand, he considered that importing gas from the United States through pipelines is much cheaper and the price is expected to have few variations in the next 20 years. That, added to the idea that little by little the country has to get rid of its dependence on natural gas and invest more in cleaner energy.
In that sense, the way out for Claudia will be to expand storage capacity, especially in the face of nearshoring, which will increase electricity demand. The plan, however, faces a number of challenges.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Manuel Bartlett
"On this issue we are in diapers," said specialist Santiago Arroyo. He recalled that some projects were briefly started at the end of Enrique Peña Nieto's administration and were incorporated into the 4T energy policy, but without force within the agenda. "In the future there must be a priority for natural gas if we are going to think about the energy transition and promote petrochemicals. Both candidates must point there," he added.
The Mexican government, through Sengas and the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), has put some projects on the table, even this year there was talk of putting out to tender the depleted Jaf field, located in Veracruz, but it was finally stopped, as you may have learned. LPO. In 2021, other fields were also evaluated, projects that also did not see the light of day. "They are projects that were very advanced," says Arturo Carranza in this regard.
With that backdrop, the next administration will not have to start from scratch, since there are advanced studies, but it will need the help of private parties. A scenario that Sheinbaum is not against. Perhaps with a measured opening, but less radical than the position of the current 4T.
The problem is that in Mexico there is no consolidated market in the matter in Mexico. Although some companies have raised their hands for this type of project, Rosanety Barrios points out that they do not have any experience in the matter, so they would have to turn to international companies.
For example, Cydsa, a company from Monterrey, has shown interest in entering the natural gas storage market. Until now the company has developed some projects with Pemex, but for LP gas.
https://www.lapoliticaonline.com/mexico/energia-mx/claudia-buscara-aumentar-el-almacenamiento-de-gas-pero-no-hay-jugadores-en-el-mercado-mexicano/
Orion's Contest Turkey 2023 Pick $OPTX
This would seem to be a good thing. This is the same guy who specifically pointed out the Brasil field as a candidate for storage and said it could "easily" be used.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=169909573
Miguel Ángel Maciel, the Pemex veteran who will conclude AMLO's energy policy
The petroleum engineer and undersecretary of hydrocarbons was promoted to head of the Ministry of Energy by the president of Mexico
Miguel Ángel Maciel, the Pemex retiree who will conclude AMLO's energy policy Miguel Ángel Maciel Torres, new head of the Ministry of Energy, during an exhibition in Veracruz during 2019.
By Arturo Solis
October 17, 2023 | 04:00 AM
Mexico City — Miguel Ángel Maciel Torres is a veteran of the state company Petróleos Mexicanos who will be in charge of leading the energy policy of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador until the end of his six-year term, after the resignation of Rocío Nahle García.
During the afternoon of October 16, 2023, AMLO, as the president is known, promoted the Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons as the new head of the Ministry of Energy and expressed his “trust” in him for his “proven convictions in favor of national sovereignty.”
{snip}
Natural gas storage
Mexico is a net importer of natural gas, a fuel it uses to generate almost 60% of its electricity, and which it buys mostly in the United States. Given this situation, Maciel Torres reported that there are nine depleted fields that are ideal for storing natural gas, since Mexico lacks storage capacity beyond what it moves through pipelines, where “it is worth it” to do the economic analysis on whether it is better to exploit its gas, store it in exhausted fields like Brasil or continue buying it in the United States through CFE. As administrator and manager of Pemex oil projects such as Burgos and Lakach, Maciel Torres has also spoken about the reactivation of the Burgos basin.
“We will have to see if it is better to store in Brasil as step one, and as step two to continue exploiting fields,” he declared in 2022.
https://www-bloomberglinea-com.translate.goog/latinoamerica/mexico/miguel-angel-maciel-el-veterano-de-pemex-que-concluira-la-politica-energetica-de-amlo/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
It will definitely involve the private sector, but no companies revealed so far.
I hear you, but the thing is that no one else has been revealed to be involved in the Brasil field storage project either at this point. As we are all well aware, things generally take a long time in Mexico. I will continue to hold out hope until I see what companies are involved in the “consortium of national and international companies.” Nahle leaving is certainly a positive.
Small mention of the Brasil field in an article from last week about relocation of the Reynosa pipeline:
Cenagas confirms to Tamaulipas authorization for the relocation of the gas pipeline in Reynosa
Investment in a 56-kilometer-long project to import hydrocarbons from the United States will reach 144 million dollars
Victor Hugo Durán
Reynosa /27.09.2023 07:00:38
{snip}
In addition to the above, efforts are being made with federal authorities to convert the Brasil field, also in Reynosa, into a natural gas storage terminal. Its purpose is to have energy in the event of weather events and other extraordinary situations, depending on its transfer from the American Union and guaranteeing the supply of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the industries installed in the northeast of the country.
https://www.milenio.com/negocios/cenagas-confirma-tamaulipas-aval-reubicar-gasoducto-reynosa
Here's an article saying Buenrostro denies the rumor. Of course she could actually be headed for the position. You never know with Mexico. Looks like we'll find out next week.
Will Raquel Buenrostro 'move' from the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of Energy? This answered
It remains to be seen who will be the person to replace Rocío Nahle, who will seek to compete for the governorship of Veracruz.
Por Jassiel Valdelamar October 06, 2023 | 19:48 pm hrs
After closing the First National Convention for the 2030 Agenda, the Secretary of Economy, Raquel Buenrostro denied the rumors that she is going to leave the federal agency to occupy the position that will be left by Rocío Nahle, who is head of the Ministry of Energy and will seek to compete for Veracruz in the 2024 elections.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently reported that next week he will announce the name of the person who will replace Rocío Nahle as head of the Ministry of Energy (SENER), and the name of Raquel Buenrostro was among the possible candidates.
"No, I am very comfortable in the Ministry of Economy and unless the president decides otherwise, but as long as the president does not say anything, we are committed to the Economy, working hard," the head of Economy told reporters.
In this sense, she emphasized that the final decision always rests with the president and “I have not been notified by the president to change my position,” she clarified.
Who will replace Rocío Nahle?
While AMLO decides on a person who can fill the position as head of the Ministry of Energy, by the time Nahle leaves, some people have been mentioned as possible candidates for this position.
One of them is Miguel Ángel Maciel Torres, Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons at Sener.
Another candidate could be Paola Elizabeth López Chávez, commissioner in the presidency of the Board of Directors of Pemex.
Among the possible successors, the name of Abraham David Alipi Mena also sounds, who is the current general director of the National Center for Natural Gas Control (CENAGAS).
Another name mentioned has been that of Rocío Abreu Artiñano, president of the Energy Commission of the Senate of the Republic.
Finally, the last possible candidate would be Manuel Rodríguez González, who is president of the Energy Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
Buenrostro highlights unorthodox measures applied by Mexico during COVID crisis
At the First National Convention for the 2030 Agenda, the Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Raquel Buenrostro Sánchez, highlighted theunconventional economic policies adopted by the Mexican government to face the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
These measures, she stated, have led the country to experience growth rates higher than those of most G20 countries.
In her speech, Buenrostro said that the multiple crises that have hit the world in recent years, from the pandemic to political conflicts and wars, have required creative and unorthodox responses from nations. In this context, she commented that Mexico has stood out for its unique approach, which has even been recognized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its reports.
“It is the difference that this government makes. We have applied unorthodox policies, while everyone said that we had to go into debt or give tax incentives so that companies did not suffer, because we did not give tax incentives, revenue collection was maintained, social programs were increased , internal consumption was maintained. “said the head of Economy.
According to Buenrostro, these decisions have allowed Mexico to maintain a rate of growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that exceeds the average of the G20 countries and places it among the most outstanding in terms of economic growth. ”We are above all our allied countries in terms of economic growth,” she stressed.
The Secretary of Economy emphasized that, despite criticism and challenges, the Mexican Government's unconventional approach has proven to be effective in preserving economic stability and protecting the most vulnerable sectors of the population.
Furthermore, she highlighted that these policies are aligned with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a global commitment that seeks to address socioeconomic and environmental challenges over the next decade.
https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/economia/2023/10/06/raquel-buenrostro-nueva-secretaria-de-energia-por-salida-de-rocio-nahle-esto-dijo-la-funcionaria/
So Nahle is leaving. If only someone else were leaving as well...
Rocío Nahle affirms that she will leave the Ministry of Energy no later than November
Latin | September 26, 2023
Rocío Nahle García, Secretary of Energy, said this Tuesday that she will leave office no later than November to seek the candidacy for the governorship of Veracruz.
In an interview with the media in Veracruz, Nahle indicated that she will present her resignation to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador once she concludes the work she has pending in the agency.
“I presented a work program to the president on the energy sector. The Dos Bocas work is practically completed, we have work on another electricity and gas program. In the program I still had work between October and November; If this is considered, unless the president says otherwise, well, I will be asking for leave,” she said.
Yesterday, Nahle gave Morena's state committee her certificate to seek to be the coordinator of defense of the transformation in the state.
“I thank my colleagues who supported me in this process. We are not going to fail them,” she wrote on social networks.
Starting Monday and until 11:59 p.m. this Tuesday, those interested in participating in Morena 's internal process to elect candidates for the governorships of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz and Yucatán, as well as by the Mexico City Headquarters.
In Morena 's call, the requirement was to be Mexican, be at least 30 years old, not have convictions for political gender violence, child abuse, rape, feminicide or be a food debtor.
Likewise, it was established that public officials who register must leave their positions 90 days before June 2, 2024. This includes magistrates and electoral counselors; active members of the Army, public servants, holders of government secretariats; holders of prosecutors' offices and the Secretariat of the Executive Office.
https://latinus.us/2023/09/26/rocio-nahle-afirma-dejara-secretaria-energia-mas-tardar-noviembre/
He's talking about the Quinto Informe (Fifth Report). Just a government report on the past year, which AMLO has done on September 1 every year.
https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-09-01/quinto-informe-de-gobierno-en-vivo-lopez-obrador-hace-balance-de-su-administracion.html
Yikes ☹️
$RETO
Article from a few days ago saying the Brasil field gas storage project will start this year. So we should know one way or another by EOY.
One thing that gives me hope is this quote from Silva in another recent article, that "we have a very clear draft and blueprint of the wells that we need to drill to set up the injection headers and create all the necessary infrastructure for the project." Where did this "very clear draft" of "all the necessary infrastructure" come from? This could very well be where Ward's knowledge comes in.
Two energy projects are approved for Tamaulipas
NETWORK July 29, 2023
Armando Castillo Gutiérrez / THE ALTAMIRA NETWORK
TAMAULIPAS. – Tamaulipas obtained the approval of two prevailing energy projects to build a gas storage field and a plant to produce fertilizers, which under a Public-Private Partnership scheme should start this year and be completed in 2024, revealed José Ramon Silva Arizabalo.
In energy projects for Tamaulipas there is good news, in this sense we can point out that the gas storage project of El Campo Brasil has been approved in coordination with the CFE and a private consortium that has been approved by the CFE as well as the Fertilizer Project Plant with PEMEX, he said.
“The Brasil field is located between the municipalities of Reynosa and Matamoros and it is a field already deployed, which has no production, it is abandoned by PEMEX and what is going to be done is to build superficial infrastructure to guarantee everything that a storage project requires,” commented the commissioner of Energy in Tamaulipas.
Gas will be injected into this field to be able to store up to 36 Bcfs, which is a very large goal for a storage project, he said, adding that the investment will be around 800 million dollars.
I clarify that the investment is going to be a PPP where private parties are going to invest. In the end, the infrastructure remains with the CFE and the state government participates as a partner in the consortium for both the technical part and the commercial part of the project and with a shareholding within it.
"This would start this year, it takes two years to build, but it would put Tamaulipas as the first storage project at the national level as a leader in this area," he said, adding that the other project is the fertilizer plant, for which it already this project has been proposed to PEMEX.
The opportunity is sought to produce fertilizers with PEMEX since we have gas and water in Tamaulipas and with that transform this raw material.
"The project has already been approved and there is already a consortium formed with private capital that is going to build the plant on the outskirts of the Municipality of Reynosa," he said.
He said that the production capacity is being defined, but he anticipated that at least 20% of the fertilizers required by the country would be produced, which would be about 10,000 tons per year.
He finally warned that, in the coming years, the lack of fertilizers will be a problem derived from the fact that Ukraine stopped the production of fertilizers, coupled with the fact that the federal government launched a plan to strengthen the agri-food industry where they have goals of being self-sufficient in production. of fertilizers.
https://laredmultimedia.com/aprueban-a-tamaulipas-dos-proyectos-energeticos/
I will post it later today.
On or before November 16, 2020.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opportunities-natural-gas-storage-mexico-energy-partners-llc
Important for both our storage and isthmus projects. Any news about Mexico LNG projects advancing is good because storage will be needed if Mexico is selling gas to other countries. Weakening of the Panama Canal is good because Mexico's isthmus will be a competitor.
Drought Impacting Panama Canal LNG Transit as Mexico Liquefaction Projects Advance
BY JAMISON COCKLIN
July 18, 2023
More U.S. LNG cargoes are taking longer and costlier routes to reach consumers in Asia as a drought impacting levels at the Panama Canal has increased wait times to transit the waterway.
“The Panama Canal remains a primary route for U.S. LNG to access Asian markets, though an increased volume of trade is utilizing other routes, especially from the Cheniere-operated terminals,” said Kpler analyst Adam Bennett.
Cheniere Energy Inc. is the leading U.S. LNG exporter. Bennett told NGI that there’s been a “pronounced drop” in the usage of the canal among vessels leaving the company’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals. Cheniere’s management has said it is shunning the waterway for now because it’s uneconomical to use it.
Without delays, the canal provides the fastest roundtrip voyage from the Gulf Coast to Japan at roughly 49 days. Over the last four weeks, roughly half of all U.S. LNG cargo volumes have passed through the canal, Bennett said, on par with the same time last year. But U.S. cargoes taking other routes, such as the Cape of Good Hope or Suez Canal, are on the rise too.
Developers such as Sempra and Mexico Pacific Limited LLC (MPL), meanwhile, plan to bypass the Panama Canal by exporting U.S. sourced gas from liquefaction terminals on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
MPL’s Ana Procuna, director of gas transportation and marketing, said last month that re-exporting U.S. gas to Asia-Pacific markets via Mexico would save around 16 days of shipping time versus the canal route. She also noted that offtakers would have the option to index their contracts to pricing at the Waha hub in West Texas, which historically has traded at a discount to the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub.
Mexico’s state power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), which also is the country’s largest natural gas marketer, on Thursday (July 13) touted a strategic alliance with MPL that could see the firms jointly bring 400-600 MMcf/d of Permian Basin gas via pipeline to MPL’s proposed Saguaro Energía liquefaction project in Puerto Libertad, Sonora.
Meanwhile, world events — namely Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – shifted the LNG market’s attention to Europe last year.
“The rise in U.S. LNG exports to Europe has reduced the pressure on the Panama Canal with transits declining through 2022,” said Aman Sud, senior lead analyst at Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. Kpler data shows that trend has continued this year, with 65% of all U.S. LNG exports going to Europe so far.
However, Sud told NGI that shipments to Asia have increased in recent weeks as spot demand has accelerated amid a heat wave in the region. The spread between the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) and the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM) has widened as more Asian offtakers buy cargoes, demand falls in Europe and storage inventories on the continent are filling fast.
NGI data shows that netbacks from Asia to the Gulf Coast for September were $8.622/MMBtu on Monday, or nearly 70 cents higher than netbacks from Europe.
While the arbitrage has opened to Asia this summer, wait times to transit the Panama Canal have grown to 10 or more days for both southbound and northbound voyages.
[Mexico Making Moves: NGI sits down with Mexico’s CNH Commissioner Moreira to discuss rising natural gas production in the country coupled with promising new natural gas discoveries, which could help to offset steadily climbing demand from increased nearshoring. Currently importing more than half of their natural gas from the U.S., Moreira also underlines the importance of creating a natural gas price index in Mexico. Tune into the Hub & Flow podcast.]
Lower than average water levels have forced canal officials to impose draft restrictions on larger vessels like container ships. While LNG tankers haven’t been impacted by those measures, the canal has also limited the number of vessels transiting the route on a daily basis to conserve water.
The disruptions are boosting the cost of roundtrip voyages to move U.S. LNG to Asia, Sud said, particularly as the spread between TTF and JKM narrows through the remainder of the year and into winter. It takes 68 days for U.S. cargoes to reach Asia via the Suez Canal and 74 days around the Cape of Good Hope. Drewry estimates that taking the Suez Canal increases shipping costs by 24%, while taking the Cape of Good Hope increases costs by 36%.
But ongoing delays at the Panama Canal that have at times well exceeded 10 days and the increasing costs of transiting the waterway have made alternate routes more attractive.
Spark Commodities CEO Tim Mendelssohn said last week that congestion is adding about 80 cents for vessels passing through the canal without bookings to do so. That’s boosting the freight spot voyage from the Gulf Coast to Asia to $2.99/MMBtu. By comparison, a route via the Cape of Good Hope stands at $2.75.
In June, 50% of U.S. cargoes sailing to Asia went via the Cape of Good Hope, Fearnleys AS LNG analyst Ina Bjørkum Arneson told NGI. That’s up from around 20% most of this year.
The trend could prove to be a lasting one as more U.S. LNG projects are being constructed and offtakers will increasingly rely on the Panama Canal to move cargoes to Asia.
“As congestion grows at the Panama Canal, and costs rise, it’s clear that other options are also becoming more attractive,” Bennett said.
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https://www.naturalgasintel.com/drought-impacting-panama-canal-lng-transit-as-mexico-liquefaction-projects-advance/