Natural Gas Leaders Discuss New Opportunities

Spearheaded by Picarro, Hidden Kitchen and Mexico Business, a unique gathering of leaders in Mexico’s natural gas sector took place in an undisclosed location in Mexico City’s historical center. Attendees discussed the future of the industry, emphasizing pressing issues that included distribution, infrastructure and safety.

Participants included:  Dánae Burgueño, Specialist in regulatory and tax matters, Juan Carlos Ruiz, Environmental Health and Safety Issues Manager, Jaqueline Luna, Director of Central operations, all representing Naturgy.  César Bernal, Customer Service Director and Fernando Vargas, Gas Control Director represented Fermaca. Other attendees included Gustavo Blejer, Managing Director for the Americas at Bonatti, Leonardo Robles, Vice President of Business Development at TC Energy, Gamaliel Corral, General Manager of Gasoducto de Morelos at Enagás, and José Bosch, General Manager of Oleum Energy. 

The dinner was hosted and sponsored by Picarro, a global leader in analytics-driven leak detection and emissions management solutions. The company was represented by Vice President of Energy Vincent Gaeto and International Energy Business Director Malvin Delgado. 

Delgado said he is invested in the company’s expansion in Mexico’s energy industry as part of its broader agenda to highlight the sector’s role in the energy transition: “Identification, quantification and reduction of natural gas emissions is vital due to the high impact that these have as greenhouse gasses. Picarro is working to bring into Mexico its solution to help natural gas utility companies in this endeavor, all while keeping emissions low and helping them to reach their net zero carbon goals.”

Topics discussed at the gathering included the main challenges in distribution and transportation of gas in Mexico, the potential development of the country’s gas infrastructure and the emerging safety trends related to pipeline infrastructure, a topic where Picarro’s expertise in advanced safety technologies and data analytics became particularly relevant. “Advanced leak detection is becoming a standard practice worldwide. However, in Mexico, traditional gas leak detection methods, known sometimes as ‘street walking,’ are widely used and accepted. Therefore, Picarro wants to promote the use of advanced leak detection and data analytics to make Mexican gas utility networks safer, more reliable and environmentally friendlier,” said Delgado.  

Attendees agreed that safety issues are considered a lens that measures the state of the national gas system’s infrastructure, since construction efforts needed to be made in parallel to optimization, refurbishing and maintenance investments for legacy infrastructure. The geographical distribution of Mexico’s natural gas grid reveals a history of uneven development, an issue now being solved by operators and distributors through virtual pipelines and other alternative methods. These approaches present the same safety questions as existing infrastructure, so safety issues integrated the discussion regarding the system’s future. 

Guests discussed Picarro’s services portfolio and its analytics-driven natural gas leak detection and quantification system. It became clear that these services could play a significant role in upgrading the technological, safety and reliability standards of Mexico’s natural gas infrastructure. “Identifying a natural gas leak in a timely manner is a real challenge but knowing the volume of gas involved in the detected leak and determining the risk associated with it is something that only the Picarro Solution can provide,” emphasized Delgado.

Specialists from Hidden Kitchen, a company that creates unique gastronomic experiences in unusual locations, prepared and curated the space. The quality and originality of the dishes served provided a fresh and unique tone to the gathering. 

While the participants were forthright in their discussions regarding infrastructure development and challenges for the road ahead, the overall tone of the conversation was positive and the event established networking opportunities advantageous to company operations and the sector’s overall development.

Picarro is the industry leader in analytics-driven leak detection and emissions management solutions, enabling our energy customers to increase capital efficiency and improve the safety of their infrastructure.