Kinder Morgan Restores Natural Gas Deliveries to Mexico

Kinder Morgan restored natural gas deliveries to Mexico on October 8 after lifting a force majeure declaration on its Tennessee Gas Pipeline. The outage began on October 5 when the company identified system problems and isolated sections of the network, including the Rio Bravo and Cenagas delivery meters.

Although the interruption was brief, the event exposed significant energy vulnerabilities for Mexico, which relies on U.S. pipeline gas for approximately 75% of its supply. The Mexican pipeline operator CENAGAS warned that flows could have dropped by 20%, a risk exacerbated by the fact that Mexico possesses only three days of gas reserves and lacks large-scale underground storage.

In response to these dependencies, the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum is exploring limited hydraulic fracturing to increase domestic production. The administration is also planning 8 billion dollars in pipeline investments to strengthen the national network and reduce the risk of future supply shocks.