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CENAGAS allocation of natural gas pipeline capacity
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Mexico open season natural gas demand and allocations by zone
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Mexico natural gas zones and centers
CENAGAS manages Mexico’s Integrated National Natural Gas Transportation and Storage System, also known as SISTRANGAS, which currently has 6,256 miles of pipeline and a total transportation capacity of 6.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d).
CENAGAS was created in 2014 as the public entity entrusted with assigning capacity rights for pipelines that were previously owned, operated, and largely used by Mexico’s national energy company, Petróleos Mexico (PEMEX). Before 2014, PEMEX was the monopoly owner of Mexico’s pipeline assets. Mexico’s energy reforms have provided a process to transition Mexico’s energy sector to competitive markets that are open to both foreign and domestic companies.
To transition to the new market structure, two open seasons were scheduled to auction pipeline capacity rights. The first phase (Round 0) was for reallocating Mexican resources; it was not open to foreign companies. During Round 0, 4.1 Bcf/d of the total 6.3 Bcf/d capacity was allocated, with 1.1 Bcf/d reserved for Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission, 1.4 Bcf/d reserved for PEMEX, and 1.6 Bcf/d reserved for Mexico’s independent power producers.
About 2.2 Bcf/d of capacity remained for the second phase (Round 1) auction, conducted in May 2017, which was open to both domestic and foreign companies. Data available on the CENAGAS website show that 24 local and international companies requested capacity rights totaling 3.6 Bcf/d in Round 1, much more than the 2.2 Bcf/d available. An additional 1.3 Bcf/d, more than half of the remaining available capacity in Round 1, was awarded to PEMEX. The next-largest shares of the Round 1 auction went to ENGIE Mexico and ArcelorMittal, each getting 7% of the Round 1 allocation, and to Shell Trading Mexico and Grupo Alpha, which acquired 6% and 5%, respectively. The remaining 15% went to 19 other companies. Many of the companies that were awarded capacity rights are in the natural gas retailing and marketing business, although the list also includes industrial customers such as steel and cement companies.