Guaymas-El Oro Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy.

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The Guaymas-El Oro Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline running between Sonora and Sinaloa states, Mexico.

Location

The pipeline runs from Guaymas, Sonora to El Oro, Sinaloa, Mexico.

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Project Details

• Operator: IEnova
• Parent Company: Sempra Energy
• Current capacity: 5.3 billion cubic meters per year
• Proposed capacity:
• Length: 200 miles / 320 km
• Status: Operating
• Start Year: 2017

Background

In October 2012, the Mexican division of Sempra International signed a 25-year contract with Mexico's Comisión Federal de Electricidad to build, own, and operate the Guaymas-El Oro project. The pipeline, whose construction was completed in April 2017, interconnects with the El Oro-Mazatlan Pipeline and is a key component of Mexico's north-northwest natural gas delivery network.

Technical description

The pipeline, operated by IEnova (Infraestructura Energética Nova SAB de CV), is 320 km (200 mi) long and 30 inches in diameter, with a capacity of 510 million cubic feet per day, or 5.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Opposition

The Guaymas-El Oro project has generated opposition from an indigenous Yaqui group in Loma de Bácum, Sonora state, whose members say they never agreed to construction of a nine-mile section of pipeline that crosses their land. In an August 2017 protest, members of the community used a backhoe to remove a 25-foot section of the pipeline, disrupting operations and perpetuating an ongoing legal battle with IEnova. As of March 2018, the pipeline's status remained in limbo pending a decision by a Mexican federal district court.