TransCanada pipeline starts up in Mexico

Canadian energy infrastructure operator TransCanada has brought the USD 1.2-billion Topolobampo pipeline on stream, the company said in a press statement on Monday.

Spanning 560 kilometres from El Encino, Chihuahua to Topolobampo Sinaloa, the pipeline can transport 19 mcm (670 mcf) of gas per day. It also connects to TransCanada’s Mazatlán pipeline, establishing an 870-kilometre system to supply gas in Mexico’s northwest region.

“The completion of the Topolobampo and Mazatlán pipeline system is an important milestone for TransCanada as we continue to expand our portfolio to deliver natural gas to serve Mexico’s electric generation needs,” Robert Jones, president of TransCanada Mexico, said in a press statement. “We are developing the infrastructure to feed new power plants and convert existing fuel oil and diesel power plants, thereby reducing both the cost of electricity and greenhouse gas emissions.”

The company said that several challenges were encountered throughout the project, such as laying the pipeline through the Tarahumara mountains, an operation which necessitated “innovative techniques such as a raised bore to cross the extreme steep cliff faces and air cranes for transporting pipes to remote locations along the route.”

The Topolobampo pipeline is TransCanada’s eighth to come on stream in Mexico. The company is involved with several other major midstream projects there, including the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline and the Tuxpan terminal.