Rosarito Gas Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Sub-articles:

FrackSwarm portal Coal terminals Coal transport and infrastructure Oil and gas pipelines LNG terminals Pipeline construction costs Methodology and data notes

Rosarito Gas Pipeline, also formerly known as Gasoducto Baja Norte, is a natural gas pipeline running through Baja California, Mexico. It interconnects with the North Baja Gas Pipeline at the United States-Mexico border.

Location

The main pipeline runs from the Algodones compressor station in Algodones, Baja California to a junction with the TGN pipeline south of Parque Industrial El Florido, Tijuana, Baja California.

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"400px","height":"300px","centre":{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":31.8466823,"lon":-116.6220036,"icon":""},"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","strokeColor":"#FF0000","strokeOpacity":"1","strokeWeight":"2","pos":[{"lat":32.7137673,"lon":-114.7541566},{"lat":32.497665,"lon":-116.658042},{"lat":32.451922,"lon":-116.883352}]}],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":6,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[]}

Project Details

• Operator: IEnova (Infraestructura Energética Nova S.A.B. de C.V.)
• Owner: IEnova (100%)
• Parent Company: Sempra Energy International (100%)
• Capacity: 534 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 135.33 miles / 217.8 km
• Diameter: 30 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2002
• Associated infrastructure:
  • Costa Azul LNG terminal
  • Termoélectrica de Mexicali power station

Background

Gasoducto Rosarito comprises roughly 300 kilometers of natural gas pipeline in Baja California owned by IENova S.A.B. de C.V. (which is in turn owned by Sempra Energy International). It connects to 80 miles of pipeline in the United States owned by TC PipeLines, called the North Baja Gas Pipeline. There is no co-ownership of the U.S. or Mexican portions of the system, but TC PipeLines and Sempra Energy International have an agreement that defines how the pipeline is operated.

The pipeline is a bi-directional system divided into three segments: a main pipeline running east-west from Algodones, Baja California to the southern outskirts of Tijuana; a spur pipeline running north-south from the Costa Azul LNG terminal near Ensenada, Baja California to a junction with the main pipeline near Tecate, Baja California; and the Yuma Lateral connector extending east from the main pipeline to the Mexican-American border near Yuma, Arizona. The pipeline's bi-directional nature allows it to supply Sempra Energy's Termoélectrica de Mexicali power station with natural gas imported from the United States or from overseas via the Costa Azul LNG Terminal.

The main pipeline, in operation since 2002, is 30 inches in diameter with a capacity of 534 million cubic feet per day (15.1 million cubic meters per day, or 5.5 billion cubic meters per year). It begins at an interconnection with the North Baja Gas Pipeline south of Ogilby, California, crossing the Mexican border at Algodones, Baja California, and heading west across northern Baja California, terminating at an interconnection with the Transportadora de Gas Natural de Baja California (TGN) Pipeline south of Tijuana.

Opposition

In 2004, a group of concerned citizens filed a court motion opposing the project's planned expansion, saying that the pipeline was incompatible with the official urban, touristic and ecological development plan for the Tijuana-Rosarito-Ensenada corridor. The citizens' appeal was finally granted a hearing in 2019, requiring Mexico's Semarnat (Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources) to reconsider the project's legal standing.

Pipeline Expansion Location

The pipeline expansion runs north from the Costa Azul LNG terminal near Ensenada, Baja California to connect with the main line near El Carrizo, south of Tecate, Baja California.

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"400px","height":"300px","centre":{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":31.8466823,"lon":-116.6220036,"icon":""},"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","strokeColor":"#FF0000","strokeOpacity":"1","strokeWeight":"2","pos":[{"lat":31.988557,"lon":-116.846466},{"lat":32.497665,"lon":-116.658042}]}],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":6,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[]}

Pipeline Expansion Project Details

• Operator: Infraestructura Energética Nova S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova)
• Parent Company: Sempra Energy International
• Capacity: 2600 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 48.49 miles / 78.04 km
• Diameter: 42 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2008

Pipeline Expansion

The pipeline expansion, also known as LNG Spur, has been in operation since 2008. It is 42 inches in diameter, with a capacity of 2600 million cubic feet per day. It starts at the Costa Azul LNG terminal north of Ensenada, Baja California and intersects with the main line near El Carrizo, south of Tecate, Baja California.

Expansion Project II, the Yuma Lateral Connector, Location

The Yuma Lateral connector pipeline runs from the Algodones compressor station in Algodones, Baja California to the Mexican-American border near Yuma, Arizona.

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"400px","height":"300px","centre":{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":32.715,"lon":-114.73,"icon":""},"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","strokeColor":"#FF0000","strokeOpacity":"1","strokeWeight":"2","pos":[{"lat":32.7137673,"lon":-114.7541566},{"lat":32.717943,"lon":-114.719944}]}],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":10,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[]}

Expansion Project II, the Yuma Lateral Connector, Project Details

• Operator: Infraestructura Energética Nova S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova)
• Parent Company: Sempra Energy International
• Capacity: 190 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 3.14 miles / 5.05 km
• Diameter: 12 inches
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2010

Expansion Project II, the Yuma Lateral Connector, Background

A short additional section of pipeline, known as Yuma Lateral, connects the main pipeline to the Mexican-American border near Yuma, Arizona. It is designed to supply gas to the Yucca Power Plant in Arizona. In service since 2010, Yuma Lateral is 3.14 miles long, with a diameter of 12 inches and a capacity of 190 million cubic feet per day.