TransCanada brings Topolobampo gas pipeline into service

TransCanada brings Topolobampo gas pipeline into service


TransCanada has announced that its Topolobampo natural gas pipeline in northern Mexico is complete and has been placed into service. The pipeline that provides capacity for 670 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets in the states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa. The project represents an investment of approximately $1.2bn and provides the upstream interconnection with the company’s Mazatlan Pipeline.

The project involved the construction of approximately 560km of 30-inch diametre pipeline from El Encino, near the city of Chihuahua, to Topolobampo, near the city of Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Combined, the Topolobampo and Mazatlan pipelines form a system that adds over 870km of critical energy infrastructure that will play a fundamental role in providing natural gas to power plants, industrial and urban markets for the economic development of the northwest region of Mexico.

“The completion of the Topolobampo and Mazatlan 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. 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,” said Robert Jones, President, TransCanada Mexico. “We are proud of the way we overcame technical challenges and completed this difficult project safely.”

The construction of the Topolobampo Pipeline presented some of the most demanding construction challenges in the country given the geography along the route, including crossing the Tarahumara mountain range near the Copper Canyon in the state of Chihuahua. TransCanada used 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.

TransCanada’s presence in Mexico dates back to the mid-1990s with the construction of the first two privately owned pipelines in the country. The company’s natural gas pipelines in Mexico – either in operation or under construction – now total over 3,190km with a capacity of 7.1 billion cubic feet per day and an investment of approximately $5.6bn.

For more information, visit: www.transcanada.com/en/

19th July 2018