El Encino-La Laguna Gas Pipeline

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' El Encino-La Laguna Gas Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline passing through the states of Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico.

Location

The pipeline runs from from the El Encino compressor station near Chihuahua (Chihuahua state) to the La Laguna compressor station near Ciudad Lerdo (Durango state).

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Project Details

• Operator: Esentia Pipeline El Encino, S. de R. L. de C.V. (formerly Fermaca Pipeline El Encino)
• Owner: Esentia Energy Systems (formerly Fermaca de México, S de R.L. de C.V. )
• Parent Company: Fermaca
• Current capacity: 1,670 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 477 km
• Diameter: 42 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2018
• Financing: US$610 million debt financing from Banamex (Citigroup), ING, NordLB, Santander, Sabadell and Goldman Sachs
• Associated infrastructure:
  • Ojinaga-El Encino Gas Pipeline
  • Tarahumara Gas Pipeline
  • La Laguna-Aguascalientes Gas Pipeline

Background

Owned and operated by Fermaca and completed in 2018, the US$749 million pipeline has a diameter of 42 inches and a length of 414 km. The El Encino-La Laguna pipeline is a key component of the Wahalajara pipeline network, which brings natural gas from Texas to Mexico. The Wahalajara system is named after the Waha oil field in Pecos County, Texas and the Mexican city of Guadalajara, which form the northern and southern extremities of the pipeline network. From north to south, the other pipelines included in the Wahalajara network are the Trans-Pecos Gas Pipeline (completed in 2017), the Ojinaga-El Encino Gas Pipeline (2017), the La Laguna-Aguascalientes Natural Gas Pipeline (2019), and the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara Gas Pipeline (2020).

Opposition & Delays

Several factors have delayed pipeline operations since construction was completed in 2018. In Durango state, a local dairy farmer filed a lawsuit in Agrarian Court against Mexican environmental agencies indicating that pipeline project developer Fermaca should not have been able to clear land on private property. Meanwhile, environmentalists and residents in the Gómez Palacio-Torreón area have objected to the pipeline on the grounds that it threatens the nearby Sierra del Sarnoso ecological reserve. Shortages of gas supply for the pipeline have also been reported.

Financing

In July 2015, the project received US$610 million in debt financing from Banamex (Citigroup), ING, NordLB, Santander, Sabadell and Goldman Sachs.