Mexico Announces Strong Investments in Natural Gas Pipelines

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Written by Amir Richani for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Mexico plans new natural gas pipelines, plus modernization and maintenance. Some new pipelines will supply power plants.

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Mexico's Announcement

The Mexican Government of Claudia Sheinbaum announced investments of 140.9 billion Mexican pesos (about US$8.1 billion) by 2030 to modernize, maintain and expand natural gas pipelines across the country.

Mexico currently has a 21,149-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline network. From those, 48% are managed by the National Natural Gas Control Center (CENAGAS), 36% by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), while the remaining 16% are under Pemex and private control.

The investments partly aim to upgrade existing infrastructure and build pipelines to support Mexico's expanding gas power plants.

The CFE will invest a total of 53.81 billion pesos (approximately US$3.13 billion) between 2026 and 2029 as part of this plan, including the construction of nine pipelines projects.

The new pipelines will help feed CFE's growing fleet of power plants. The CFE is currently building seven new natural gas power plants for a total capacity of 4.56 gigawatts (GW). Meanwhile, the government has tendered another four power plants and will announce two new tenders later this year, bringing the total to 13.

Meanwhile, CENAGAS is expected to invest 87.09 billion Mexican pesos (US$5.06 billion) in the next five years. Some 47.44 billion Mexican pesos (US$2.75 billion) are expected to be invested in the construction of three pipelines with a capacity of 3.64 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d).

Another 12.42 billion Mexican pesos (US$722 million) will be invested in modernization and special works for pipelines, and the remaining 27.2 billion Mexican pesos (US$1.58 billion) will be allocated to rehabilitation and maintenance.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 100 natural gas pipeline projects across Mexico, worth US$5.9 billion.

Natural Gas Imports

Mexico produces only part of the natural gas it consumes internally. Pemex, the national oil company and largest domestic hydrocarbon producer, had natural gas output of 3.67 Bcf/d throughout 2025, but its dry natural gas production totaled only 1.7 Bcf/d in that year.

As a result, Mexico relies largely on imports from the United States to meet its domestic demand. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Mexico imported 6.63 Bcf/d of natural gas via pipelines from the United States in 2025. Imports of dry gas have consistently increased over the past decades (except in 2022), as domestic dry-gas output has generally declined.

According to data from the energy secretary, Mexico imported between 69% and 75% of its dry gas consumption between 2020 and 2024.

Key Takeaways

• Mexico's government expects investment of 140 billion Mexican pesos in natural gas pipelines by 2030.
• The plan covers new pipelines, modernization and maintenance.
• Mexico relies largely on gas imports from the United States to meet its demand.

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).