The Canadian energy infrastructure group TC Energy has reached an agreement with the Mexican state-owned utility CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) to develop a US$4.5bn offshore natural gas pipeline with a capacity of 1.3 tcf/d (13.4 bcm/year).
The 715 km-long Southeast Gateway pipeline will supply natural gas to Mexico’s central and southeast regions and will consolidate the existing Transportadora de Gas Natural de la Huasteca (TGNH) assets including the Tamazunchale (370 km, 825 mcf/d or 8.5 bcm/year between Naranjos and Tamazunchale and 630 mcf/d or 6.5 bcm/year between Tamazunchale and El Sauz), Tula-Villa de Reyes (420 km, 886 mcf/d or 9.2 bcm/year), and Tuxpan-Tula (276 km, 8886 mcf/d or 9.2 bcm/year) pipelines.
In August 2021, TC Energy reached an agreement with CFE to complete the Tuxpan-Tula gas pipeline, whose construction has been stalled over land crossing concerns. In August 2019, the government of Mexico reached an agreement with gas pipeline operators to cut the rates of gas transportation by 28% on average over 25 years.