TRANSCANADA PIPELINES LTD ("TRP-TMVYWDNPQX") - Completion of Mexican Pipeline
TransCanada PipeLines Limited announced the completion of Energia Mayakan, a US$266 million, 700-kilometre natural gas pipeline in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The pipeline has been commissioned and is expected to go into commercial operation by the end of September as scheduled.
Energia Mayakan is the first TransCanada-owned and operated pipeline in Mexico. It is also the first pipeline of its kind in Mexico to have been awarded to the private sector. TransCanada has a 62.5 per cent interest in Energia Mayakan. Other partners include InterGen (32.5 per cent) and Gutsa Constructions (5 percent).
"The successful completion of Energia Mayakan is an excellent example of TransCanada making good on its strategy to focus on the growing markets of Latin America," said Ron Turner, TransCanada's Senior Vice President and President of International. "Energia Mayakan represents one of many opportunities for TransCanada in Mexico and other Latin American regions."
Energia Mayakan achieved its mechanical completion on June 30, 1999. The project was both on schedule and on budget.
With a capacity that will grow to approximately 10.5 million cubic metres per day (370 million cubic feet per day), the 24-inch Energia Mayakan pipeline will transport natural gas from Ciudad Pemex, in Tabasco, to new power plants located in Campeche and Yucatan. It will also deliver gas to customers along the pipeline route as well as several power plants being converted from fuel oil to natural gas.
Energia Mayakan will provide a clean, low-cost energy alternative to fuel oil and diesel in the Yucatan Peninsula. It will help meet Mexico's national electric utility's demand for an efficient fuel transportation system for the region.
In planning and constructing Energia Mayakan, TransCanada and its partners worked closely with Mexican federal and state authorities and national ecological and archaeological institutes to ensure the minimum disruption to environmental habitats and to maintain important archaeological and historical sites. Ceremonies to inaugurate the Energia Mayakan pipeline are planned for mid-October in Merida, Mexico. Senior Mexican government authorities and representatives from TransCanada and other Energia Mayakan partners are expected to attend.
TransCanada is a leading North American energy company. Its $26 billion asset base and its people support businesses in transmission, power generation, marketing, and midstream services. TransCanada's common shares trade under the symbol TRP, primarily on the Toronto, Montreal and New York stock exchanges. Visit us on the Internet at www.transcanada.com for more information. TEL: (403) 267-6299
Media Inquiries: Glenn Herchak (Canada) TEL: (525) 202-7307
Alfonso Avalos (Mexico) TEL: (403) 267-8521
Analyst Inquiries: David Moneta TEL: (403) 267-2665
Dave Mitchell |
