Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline

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The Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline project in Mexico. One section of the pipeline has been operating since 2022, while a second section has been announced but not yet constructed.

Location

The pipeline's path runs from Tuxpan, Veracruz to Tula, Hidalgo, passing through the states of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo.

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Project Details

• Operator: TC Energía México
• Owner: TC Energía México
• Parent Company: TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Corporation)
• Capacity: 886 million cubic feet per day
• Length: 178 miles / 287 km
• Status: Construction
• Start Year:
• Associated infrastructure:
  • Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Gas Pipeline
  • Tula-Villa de Reyes Gas Pipeline

Background

The Tuxpan-Tula project was designed as a key link in a multi-pipeline system designed to bring larger volumes of Texas-sourced natural gas into central Mexico. Gas transported from the United States via the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Gas Pipeline was to enter Mexico's gas transport system at Tuxpan on the Gulf Coast, then continue via the Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline to Tula, where it would merge into the Tula-Villa de Reyes Gas Pipeline.

As originally designed, the pipeline was to have a length of 287 kilometers and a diameter of 36 inches. It was initially scheduled for completion in 2018, but construction was delayed due to the government's failure to properly consult with indigenous communities affected by the project. In November 2018, TC Energy announced that construction had been further delayed by complications with local permitting and fee processes, and that construction was now scheduled for completion in 2020.

In January 2020 Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that the pipeline would be rerouted away from areas in Puebla state that are held sacred by local indigenous groups, raising new questions about the timeline for the project's completion. Ongoing negotiations left the commissioning date uncertain. A September 2020 report from Mexico's SENER (Secretary of Energy) showed that the pipeline was still only 87% complete, while other reports showed the pipeline coming into service no earlier than 2022.

In August 2021, TC Energy announced that it had reached an agreement with the CFE to move forward with completing the pipeline. In September 2021, the CFE officially announced it would build a section of the pipeline approximately 120 kilometers in length that would address the concerns of local residents, notably avoiding sacred areas.

In January 2022, the CFE announced additional details of the pipeline's new route, which would pass through five indigenous communities in the municipalities of Huauchinango and Xicotepec. In response, local residents and activists expressed concern that the pipeline's developers have failed to provide timely information to the affected communities or to the National Institute of Indigenous People (INPI), as required by ILO convention 169 regarding the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.

As of early 2022, the timeline for commissioning the pipeline remained uncertain, despite efforts by TC Energía and the CFE to expedite its completion.

In July 2022, TC Energy signed an agreement with Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to build the new Southeast Gateway Gas Pipeline, which was described as an alternative route to the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline. The agreement sought to address several other energy-related issues, including continued public opposition to the original Tuxpan-Tula route; plans called for development of a new route for the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, consistent with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's pledge to not violate indigenous rights.

In August 2022, TC Energy and the CFE reached a final investment decision to build the Southeast Gateway pipeline, with the project anticipated to be in service in 2025. Under terms of the agreement, other projects such as Tuxpan-Tula were to be developed through a public-private partnership between TC Energy and CFE. The partnership agreed to terminate their suspended international arbitrations related to the Tula-Villa de Reyes and Tuxpan-Tula pipelines, and to construct the central segment of the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline, subject to sanctioning at the end of the year. CFE's executive director Manuel Bartlett announced that construction work on the pipeline would resume in the fourth quarter of 2022 and would be managed by TC Energy's local subsidiary Transportadora de Gas Natural de la Huasteca.

CFE's 2022 annual report, released in April 2023, reconfirmed that completing the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline while respecting the rights of indigenous communities was a key priority for the partnership between TC Energy and CFE. As of June 2023, efforts to complete construction of the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline appeared to be moving ahead, despite ongoing opposition from some communities in the pipeline's path.

TC Energy's 2023 annual information form, published in February 2024, stated that the central segment of the Tula pipeline remained subject to an FID, and that the company continued to work with the CFE on the Tula pipeline’s west section to procure necessary land access and resolve legal claims. The company's Q1 2024 and Q2 2024 reports to shareholders, released in May and August 2024, respectively, stated that "we continue to evaluate the development and completion of the Tula pipeline, with the CFE, subject to a future FID and updated cost estimate."

Opposition

February 2022 protest against the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline; Source: La Jornada de Oriente

Signs of local opposition to the Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline - Source: Lado B

Residents of the Sierra Norte have opposed the the project on the grounds that it would damage the environment and their traditional way of life.

Communities in the pipeline's path have also complained of the developers' failure to respect local land rights, provide clear information, and comply with requirements for prior consultation with indigenous groups.

The 216-page report Territorios del Água, published in December 2021, meticulously documents resistance to the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline among local communities in the Sierra de Puebla-Hidalgo.

Following the August 2022 final investment decision on the Southeast Gateway pipeline, 18 organizations led by the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) warned of the pipeline's grave risk to the surrounding coral reef corridor. They alleged that TC Energy and CFE were trying to avoid scrutiny of the project's total impact by filing separate statements for two sections of the pipeline, and urged oil and gas regulator Agencia de Seguridad, Energía y Ambiente (ASEA) to order TC Energy and CFE to submit a single impact statement for the project as a whole.

Articles and resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

[[Category: Proposed pipelines in Mexico]