RE:Mexico needs nat. gasMEXICO needs natural gas pipelines.. https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/a7e5198d/bi-brief-022218-ces-mexgasification.pdf NOT WITHOUT PIPELINES It is understood within SENER that the strategy to supply natural gas to domestic users over the next 15 years mostly depends on (a) having access to production Though it is certain that increasing Mexicos production is important, easing import dependency will certainly be more complicated in the absence of a more efficient and competitive market. GROWING DEMAND MEETS FALLING PRODUCTION For the most part, demand for natural gas in Mexico has expanded rapidly because of the Mexican governments strategy to diversify the configuration of the national energy mix. This has entailed reducing consumption of more polluting and more expensive energy sources such as fuel oil6 and pledging to generate cleaner electricity to meet the countrys commitments to the environment.7 To be sure, this policy was crafted well before the approval of the 2013 energy reforms. For example, during the decade leading up to 2013, the generation of electricity from natural gas grew at an annual rate of 8.3 percent, while electricity generation from fuel oil declined at around 4.5 percent per annum.8 Billions of cubic feet per day (Bcfd) Dry gas imports Dry gas production Available gas coming out of shale formations in the United States and (b) a positive change in investment conditions for PEMEX and private firms potentially interested in entering the Mexican upstream sector, largely incentivized by the energy reforms. However, it must be noted that this strategy cannot be effective without expanding the countrys capability to distribute natural gas. In other words, additional infrastructure to distribute gas will have to be built, which will require further investment. The administration of President Enrique Pea Nieto is conscious of this and, since the approval of reforms, has bolstered efforts to build more pipelines.12 Based on the national infrastructure program published in 2013, which stated that investment in natural gas transport capacity would be nine times larger than during the preceding administration, SENER designed a five-year plan to expand the length and capacity of the countrys pipeline network by 2019.