Laguna-Aguascalientes Natural Gas Pipeline

active

The Laguna-Aguascalientes project envisaged the construction, operation and maintenance of a 450-km natural gas pipeline passing through the states of Durango, Zacatecas and Aguascalientes. The pipeline was set to have a capacity of 1.19 billion cubic feet per day. In March 2016, the project was awarded by the Mexico's regulatory agency CFE to Fermaca Pipeline La Laguna, S. de R.L. de C.V., a subsidiary of Mexican company Fermaca. The contract lenght was established as 25 years of commercial operations. Besides Fermaca, one other bidder took part in the process: Transportadora de Gas Natural del Noroeste, S. de R.L. de C.V. The bidding criteria was the lowest revenues. Fermaca presented the winning offer of US$ 372 million, 71% below the ceiling established by the regulatory agency. The investment in the project was estimated at US$ 840 million. Financial closure was achieved in October 2016. The US$630 million financing package was provided by nine international banks (ING, Santander, Sabadell, Mizuho, Intesa, Natixis, Nord LB, KfW and BNP Paribas). The remaining cost was equity financed. Construction works started in 2016, and commercial operations were expected to commence in 2018.