URSUS Energy Scales Investment to US$2.1 Billion

URSUS Energy and Samsung E&A have formally announced a major US$2.1 billion investment to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant at the PODEBIS Coatzacoalcos II zone, making it the first development pole to materialize within the Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT). Backed by technology from Honeywell and a financial structure managed by Oppenheimer, the plant aims to achieve an export capacity of 2.1Mt/y by late 2029. Crucially, the project targets environmental mitigation and regional commercial opportunity by utilizing nitrogen-contaminated associated natural gas that PEMEX currently vents or flares at record highs. However, execution faces underlying regional complexity due to an ongoing concession revocation process on a site heavily restricted by subsurface PEMEX pipelines.

URSUS Energy and Samsung E&A have formally announced a US$2.1 billion investment for the development of a liquefied natural gas plant at PODEBIS Coatzacoalcos II, within the Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec. The announcement represents a significant scaling of the project from the US$450 million first-phase figure disclosed at the time of the Samsung E&A FEED-EPC framework agreement in June, a figure that now represents only the opening tranche of a broader investment package targeting 2.1Mt/y of LNG export capacity by 2029.

The announcement was made as the Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard confirmed at the morning press conference that the federal government's priority is advancing with the PODEBIS that already show the most development progress, while continuing work on projects that remain pending definition. That framing, prioritizing the most advanced poles first, places URSUS's Coatzacoalcos II squarely in the lead position among the CIIT's 11 planned industrial zones, with URSUS Energy itself having described the project as the first PODEBIS to materialize within the corridor.

The Mota-Engil Revocation Context

The URSUS investment announcement arrives alongside an unresolved concession background that adds institutional complexity to the project's execution path. Of the two PODEBIS renounced by Mota-Engil in Coatzacoalcos, one was reassigned to URSUS Energy.

During the prior federal administration, the site had been concessioned to Mota-Engil. However, it was detected that the usable surface area is very limited due to the passage of several PEMEX pipelines, with construction having to be limited to avoid perforations over those ducts. Veracruz Governor Ernesto Pérez stated that what vocación the second pole will have has not yet been fully defined, given the construction limitations imposed by the subsurface pipeline crossings. "We will wait for definitions on this site, and from the state government we will give all the facilities for the new vocations that are assigned," he said.

Global Energy Mexico reported that the pole continues to face a revocation process with Mota-Engil, meaning the formal legal resolution of the prior concessionaire's exit may not yet be fully concluded. The report noted Ebrard's statement that the priority is to advance with the poles showing the most development, a formulation that sidesteps rather than resolves the concession status question.

What the US$2.1 Billion Investment Covers

The liquefaction plant will process associated natural gas contaminated with nitrogen that PEMEX currently flares or vents, converting it into LNG for export to Europe, the Caribbean, and South America. Honeywell technology will allow decontamination and preparation for international commercialization. The project contemplates beginning civil works in the summer of 2026, with first export targeted for late 2029, with projected annual capacity of 2.1 million tonnes.

The natural gas will come from the Pajaritos II pipeline, operated by Impact Oil & Gas, but could also be supplied from the Puerta al Sureste pipeline owned by Canadian company TC Energy. URSUS Energy's Director General Santiago Fabián Arroyo Seguedo stated: "This collaboration marks the foundation of what is taking shape as the second major energy project of Samsung E&A in Mexico, now alongside URSUS Energy."

The financial structure has also evolved. The global investment fund Oppenheimer is acting as fund manager and lead for capital raising, targeting both investors and debt institutions, including for the issuance of green bonds. URSUS Energy's equity capitalization target is US$1.2 billion, of which approximately 70% was already in firm negotiations or committed on paper as of recent reporting. The first phase is backed by a letter of intent from Bancomext proposing a financing package of approximately US$450 million, covering concession obligations, site preparation, platforms, technology licensing, and EPC works.

The Gas Flaring Opportunity

The URSUS investment addresses a resource management problem that PEMEX's own quarterly reports have been documenting with increasing urgency. PEMEX sent 618Mmcf/d of natural gas into the atmosphere through venting and flaring in 1Q26, a 78.6% increase over the 346Mmcf/d recorded in 1Q25, and equivalent to 12.7% of total gas production. That flared and vented volume, if captured and processed, represents feedstock for an LNG plant the scale of URSUS's Coatzacoalcos project at full capacity, making the investment both a commercial opportunity and an environmental mitigation measure for PEMEX's most visible emissions metric in recent quarters.