CENAGAS Aims for Gas Security With Five-Year Plan

The government is seeking to build resilience into its natural gas system with the announcement of a new Five-Year Plan by CENAGAS, an initiative that aims to overhaul the country’s gas transport, distribution, and storage infrastructure between 2025 and 2029. The plan arrives amid growing concern over gas supply reliability, especially given Mexico’s heavy dependence on imports, and reflects a strategic push to strengthen the domestic network while reducing vulnerability to external disruptions.

Under current conditions, Mexico’s storage of natural gas is critically limited. Estimates indicate that reserves cover barely 2.5 days of national demand, a figure widely regarded as inadequate to guarantee supply stability in the event of external supply shocks or unexpected demand spikes. The new CENAGAS plan aims to expand that storage capacity to at least 10 days with aspirations to exceed that threshold by deploying a combination of underground storage solutions, including saline cavities and depleted fields, distributed across the country.

Cuitláhuac García, Director General, CENAGAS, confirmed that the plan has been pre-approved and is pending the formal publication of the national energy planning document (PROSENER). He indicated that storage infrastructure will form part of a broader modernization strategy, and that CENAGAS has already engaged with international firms experienced in underground gas storage.

The Five-Year Plan also contemplates a significant expansion and rehabilitation program for the national pipeline network (SISTRANGAS). Over the current administration, the federal government has earmarked MX$42.8 billion (US$2.330 million) for natural-gas distribution. The funds are intended for the construction, rehabilitation, and expansion of pipelines across multiple states including Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, Sonora and others. Parts of the existing pipeline infrastructure date back several decades, and under the plan CENAGAS aims to rehabilitate as much as 70 to 75% of that network by 2030.

Beyond expansion, the plan aims to strategically target regions where supply gaps or future industrial projects require strengthened access to natural gas. For instance, the southern state of Chiapas saw a marked increase in projected gas demand, reaching 82.3MMcf/d, following CENAGAS’s 2025 Public Consultation, suggesting growing industrial, agricultural, or energy-generation activity in the region.

The importance of the plan becomes clear when considering that Mexico currently relies on import for nearly 70% of its natural gas. This reliance, combined with minimal strategic reserves, leaves the country exposed to international market volatility, geopolitical pressures, or cross-border supply disruptions. The plan’s expansion seeks to build buffer capacity so the system can absorb shocks without threatening electricity generation, industrial feedstock, or heating for families in colder regions.

By deploying storage and network redundancy, the plan would enable more stable supply for regions currently underserved by pipelines, support new industrial parks, and promote economic development in areas where energy bottlenecks previously deterred investment. CENAGAS has indicated that modernization will also include technological upgrades: investments in supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA), measurement and control devices, and better flow regulation, all focused on increasing operational efficiency and safety. 

Nevertheless, challenges remain. While the plan promises storage and network expansion, financing and coordination will be key. The required investments, from pipeline construction to underground storage development, will demand sustained funding and clear regulatory frameworks that encourage public-private cooperation. Given prior delays in permitting and regulatory bottlenecks for gas projects in Mexico, execution risks cannot be ignored. 

Moreover, any transition toward broader use of gas must be balanced with long-term energy policy and climate considerations. Critics have argued that investing heavily in gas infrastructure risks locking in a fossil-fuel–dependent path, especially if parallel progress on renewables and electrification lags. For Mexico, which increasingly seeks to balance energy security with decarbonization goals, the Five-Year Plan may offer an opportunity to balance gas use with broader environmental aims.

In governmental and regulatory terms, the plan signals a shift: after years of infrastructural neglect and dependence on external supply, Mexico is attempting to assert control over its gas supply chain. With the nomination of Cuitláhuac García at the helm of CENAGAS earlier this year, the institutional leadership appears committed to delivering on that goal. 

As the plan moves forward, with official publication of PROSENER, rollout of storage projects, pipeline rehabilitation, and regional consultations, the energy sector, industrial actors, and municipalities will be watching closely. If successful, the Five-Year Plan could cement natural gas as a stable pillar in Mexico’s energy matrix, support industrial expansion beyond the traditional hydrocarbon heartlands, and provide much-needed resilience to a country still vulnerable to global supply disruptions. But success will depend on execution, financing, and a long-term vision that reconciles energy security with sustainability.