<article><p class="lead">Fermaca's 1.32 Bcf/d La Laguna-Aguascalientes natural gas pipeline launched operations today, a key component of the Wahalajara system that will flow natural gas from Texas into central Mexico.</p><p>"With direct access to the Waha basin, an enormous natural gas reserve with some of the most competitive prices in the world, this system has a combined capacity of 5 Bcf/d," Fermaca said today.</p><p>The 453km (281-mile) pipeline connects into the El Encino-La Laguna pipeline to the north and the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara pipeline to the south, creating a 2,150km trunk line that covers seven states.</p><p>The pipeline, built at a cost of Ps14.4bn ($749mn), was one of 25 pipelines contracted by CFE during the previous administration as part of an effort to increase import capacity to 11 Bcf/d and total network capacity to 15 Bcf/d.</p><p>Flow information is not yet available on the Fermaca electronic bulletin board.</p><p>But the launch of operations has been delayed for over a year, because of local opposition and, earlier this year, a contract renegotiation with CFE.</p><p>CFE claimed the contracts were prejudicial to the utility. But following months of renegotiations, Fermaca reached a deal in September that established a new tariff structure and extended the contract by 10 years.</p><p>The last pipeline in the Wahalajara system, the 886mn cf/d Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes line, should start operations next March, Miguel Reyes, director of CFEnergia told <i>Argus</i> previously.</p><p>Four pipelines, with a combined capacity of 3.13 Bcf/d, out of the 25-line build out remain outstanding but are expected to launch operations within the next three years once local opposition is resolved.</p><p>Mexico relies heavily on natural gas imports as domestic production has declined since 2010. US pipeline imports more than quadrupled between 2009 and this year, with 5.39 Bcf/d imported in September. Mexico's state-owned Pemex produced 4.88 Bcf/d of gas in October, up from 4.84 Bcf/d in October a year ago.</p><p class="lead"><i>By Rebecca Conan</i></p></article>
