• The goal is to increase the penetration rate for clean fuels in the country to 30%.
  • Earlier today, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation held an international seminar on the challenges and opportunities.

The expansion of natural gas distribution infrastructure will bring development and progress to Mexico, which will enable the current penetration rate of 7% to be increased to at least 30%, as is the case in other South American countries.

This was agreed upon by international authorities and experts at the International Seminar entitled 'The Distribution of Natural Gas in Mexico: challenges and opportunities' held earlier today at the Club de Industriales in the city.

The event, organised by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation (FGNF), was opened by its General Manager, Martí Solà, and Rosanety Barrios, on behalf of the Energy Secretary, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell. Martí Solà stressed that 'the great challenge is to position Mexico as a country with a natural gas distribution network that meets its energy needs'.

'The scheduled investment to expand our distribution networks leading up to 2020 amounts to over $178 million', said Ángel Larraga Palacios, President of Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) in Mexico.

He went on to say that, in the 18 years that the company has been operating in Mexico, total investment stands at over $2.6 billion.

Narcís de Carreras Roques, Country Manager for the company, stressed that 'Gas Natural Fenosa will continue to foster distribution under a structured regulatory framework. Our Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 is focused on reaching 200,000 customers per year to surpass two million in total and maintain the pace of distribution network expansion at 6,000 kilometres up to 2020'.

During the opening ceremony, the Head of Industrial Transformation Policy of the Secretariat for Energy, Rosanety Barrios, said that 'distribution must be developed within a legal framework that does not include any exclusive arrangements and that correspondingly assumes that distribution is an independent marketing activity in such a way that the goal will be to develop the necessary networks so that all interested marketing companies can gain access to those networks and offer their services to the end user under competitive terms that allow the development of efficient prices'.

The International Seminar entitled 'The Distribution of Natural Gas in Mexico: challenges and opportunities' was attended by such international experts as Dave McCurdy, President and CEO of the American Gas Association; Rodrigo Pinto Scholtbach, Senior Analyst from the International Energy Agency; Guillermo Zúñiga and Jesús Serrano, Commissioners from the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC); David Madero, Managing Director of the National Centre for Natural Gas Control (CENAGAS); Tania Ortiz, President of the Mexican Natural Gas Association (AMGN); and Francisco Salazar, President of the Mexican Chapter of the World Energy Council (WEC).

Tania Ortiz, President of the AMGN, stressed that 'the federal government launched a highly successful natural gas gasification plan. The gas pipeline network is starting to emerge; most of the pipelines will enter operation between 2017 and 2018'. She added that natural gas will not reach the end consumer if the issue of distribution cannot be resolved.

In this regard, Guillermo Zúñiga, ERC Commissioner, stressed: 'the capacity and infrastructure are already in place, now we need to ensure progress on the issue of natural gas distribution'. He also spoke about the competitiveness of natural gas in the regions where this fuel is already available, highlighting that 2017 will be the year of natural gas in Mexico.

Finally, at the closing ceremony of the International Seminar entitled 'The Distribution of Natural Gas in Mexico: the challenges and opportunities', David Madero, Managing Director of CENAGAS, said that 'with the creation of new institutions and the strengthening of those that already existed in Mexico, as well as a public policy focused on deregulating and modernising markets, we can foresee a reliable, efficient and safe supply of natural gas. This combination of policies will get to the root of the problem following decades of consistently suffering insufficient demand for natural gas due to supply restrictions'.

Natural gas in Mexico

Natural gas is a safe, competitive and environmentally-friendly fuel. It is synonymous with development and progress. Those municipalities with a natural gas supply have a per capita income that is 50% higher than those that lack this service due to the corresponding investment in assets and job creation.

The penetration rate for natural gas in Mexico is relatively low, only 7%. This is far below other countries in the Americas, such as Argentina (30%), Colombia (40%), Canada (50%) and the United States (56%). There are countries in Europe, such as Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom, where natural gas penetration stands in excess of 80%.

Monterrey represents a success story in Mexico (with a 77% natural gas penetration rate), while Mexico City has a penetration rate of merely 18%, the same as the city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti. Other major capitals, such as Bogota in Colombia or Buenos Aires in Argentina, have rates of 92% and 83%, respectively.

Mexico City, 26 September 2016

Images

Gas Natural Sdg SA published this content on 26 September 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 September 2016 09:25:04 UTC.

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