Mexico Pacific awards Sierra Madre pipeline contract

Mexico Pacific, which is behind the US$14bn Saguaro Energía plant at Puerto Libertad port in Sonora state, has awarded the design, tendering and construction of the 800km Sierra Madre pipeline to Mexican firm GDI Sicim Pipelines and Bonatti México, a subsidiary of Italian contractor Bonatti.

The natural gas pipeline is planned to feed 2.8bn cubic feet per day from Texas, crossing the states of Chihuahua and Sonora, to the LNG facility, for which construction could start next year. 

“Under the lump-sum-turnkey EPC contracts, the GDI Sicim Pipelines and Bonatti joint venture will engineer, procure and construct the Sierra Madre pipeline with Bonatti’s scope extending to the required compressor stations,” Mexico Pacific said in a statement. 

The company did not disclose an investment amount for the pipeline. 

“Execution of our pipeline EPC contracts represents yet another important inflection point for our project as we prepare to move into construction. We look forward to working with GDI Sicim Pipelines and Bonatti in delivering a project that will bring transformational value to Mexico and critically needed cleaner energy supply to global markets,” CEO Ivan van der Walt was quoted as saying in the statement. 

The announcement comes after Mexico Pacific said on November 15 that it signed “a strategic collaboration agreement” with Chihuahua state for the project, and nearly a month after Sonora confirmed all permits had been granted to begin construction.

The firm will reportedly host in January an expo for local suppliers as part of the construction phase.