AMLO pledges to visit communities halting pipeline work

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would personally visit communities holding up the construction of seven natural gas pipelines of IEnova, Grupo Carso and TransCanada.

López Obrador reiterated an appeal to the companies to renegotiate take-or-pay contracts with state-run electricity utility CFE, calling the contracts "immoral" and appealing to the social conscience of the companies.

However, López Obrador denied that the government would sue companies which did not renegotiate, as CFE director Manuel Bartlett had threatened earlier. The contract stipulations were included in the conditions of the tenders published by the previous government.

According to TransCanada's 3Q18 report three pipelines were receiving fixed capacity charges after CFE recognized force majeure events. These were the marine South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline and the Tuxpan-Tula and Tula-Villa de Reyes ducts. In the case of the South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline fixed capacity charges started 4Q18 and in the case of the latter two in 1Q18.

According to the report the South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline was expected to be finished by the end of 2018, the Villa de Reyes pipeline by 2019 and the Tula pipeline by 2020.

TransCanada and IEnova are 60:40 partners in the South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline.

IEnova declared force majeure for the Guaymas-El Oro pipeline which was interrupted in territory of the Yaqui tribe in August 2017, according to its 3Q18 report.

According to Grupo Carso's 3Q18 report the Samalayuca-Sasabé pipeline was 64% completed by last September. The expected completion date for the pipeline at the time was July 2019.