The Ministry of Energy (Sener) intends to put an end to the competitive natural gas market in Mexico, requiring as an obligation that the National Natural Gas Control Center (Cenagas) stop selling capacity in the National Natural Gas Transportation System (Sistrangas) to marketers other than Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).
Thus, a dozen of these different traders, such as Shell, BP and Trafigura, among others, would have to change their gas acquisition contracts from their primary sellers, for a contract with one of the two energy states. This is because at the same time the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) is “exhorted” to change the terms and conditions of the contract for the purchase of natural gas.
This must happen in a “reasonable” period of less than 60 days, but even if the CRE does not have time to change the rules, Cenagas must already (at Sener’s request) stop lending them capacity unless they prove that they acquired the gas to Pemex or the CFE.
This constitutes a tied sale: of the transfer of transport capacity only if the molecule is purchased from State companies. It is the return to the monopoly, even of imported gas, not only of national gas in its production, as before”, said the energy sector analyst Miriam Grunstein.
In the middle of this month, the head of the Energy Secretariat, Rocío Nahle, sent a letter to the CRE and Cenagas with instructions to modify regulations and natural gas transportation contracts from Sistrangas. This, so that the excess capacity of CFE is used in its pipelines, which the company is paying for without being used, the document refers.
In the case of the United States, the import capacity is 8,200 million cubic feet per day, of which 41% is used, while in Mexico the CFE has transportation contracts for 18,000 million cubic feet per day and 68% is used. percent.
“The foregoing results in CFE disbursements to recover equivalent to 10,000 million pesos per year,” Nahle’s official statement exposes. The Sistrangas has a capacity of 5.9 billion cubic feet per day, of which 2.9 billion correspond to the CFE and 800 million to Pemex. The private ones have almost 1,700 million reserved, of which they use about 1,300 million. But in addition, there are another around 4,200 million cubic feet in different branches in the country, but although they are not part of the exhortation, they will be affected, because gas transportation ends up functioning as a network.
Legality of the warrant
Eduardo Prud’homme, who was head of the Cenagas Technical Management and Planning Unit, today an energy affairs consultant at Gadex, told El Economista that de facto there is no obligation to carry out the instruction of the Secretary of Energy , but given the election of CRE commissioners – where all but one were elected by the current administration and without the approval of the Senate due to lack of time for agreements – and the Cenagas is still a decentralized Executive, both a requirement and a exhortation are basically orders.
“What if it’s legal? Yes, the Secretary of Energy has the obligation to conduct the national energy policy, but the Hydrocarbons Law specifies that in matters of natural gas it must do so through open and non-discriminatory access, which promotes competition in the networks, so yes , with this policy the law is violated”, assured the specialist.
The foregoing will cause marketers to change their contracts so as not to lose their business, transferring the additional cost generated by contracting with Pemex or CFE to the final customers – who in turn will decide whether to stay with that marketer or go directly with the state companies. assured Prud’homme.
Amparos
Regardless of the fact that the practice of tied sales should generate a reaction from Cofece, within its obligations to denounce this type of practice contrary to its legal principles, the marketers may have already initiated the amparo processes, since they need to be violated rights acquired individually towards marketers and Cenagas himself has already sought out marketers to explain the situation to them.
For now, he explained to El Economista Efraín Téllez, a partner at Enix, a specialist in markets and regulation of the energy sector and who was director of Economic Analysis of the CRE, that the measure applies to contracts that will be renewed, which occurs in the summer. . As soon as the CRE tries to modify the terms and conditions, the bulk of the legal processes will come.
“Basically they are closing the natural gas market and it is so as not to lose control of capacity, capacity that they could sell and liquidate, obtain resources in the long term with firm-based (long-term) contracts, but they do not, it’s about being in control, even if they don’t have the capacity or the logistics to operate it,” he said.
