Esentia buys TC Energy's Manzanillo-Guadalajara gas pipeline for $400 million

Esentia Energy Development agreed on September 21, 2026 to buy 100% of Energía Occidente de México, a TC Energy subsidiary and owner of the Guadalajara-Manzanillo gas pipeline, for 400 million dollars. The deal makes the company the only private firm with an integrated pipeline system linking the Permian Basin in Texas to the Mexican Pacific, according to Bloomberg Línea.

The asset consists of 313 kilometers of pipeline running from the Guadalajara, Jalisco area to Manzanillo, Colima, with capacity to transport up to 500 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. The line connects imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply near Manzanillo with the continental gas that feeds power plants and industrial customers in both states, and it is interconnected with the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara system, already operated by Esentia Pipeline de Occidente. La Jornada reported that Esentia's board of directors approved the transaction on September 4. Mexico covers close to 80% of its domestic consumption with gas imported from the United States, according to Bloomberg Línea.

Esentia expects to fund the price with available liquidity or existing credit lines and does not anticipate that the purchase will increase its gross debt; Citigroup is acting as financial advisor. The closing is expected in the first half of 2027 and remains subject to customary conditions, regulatory approvals and consents. François Poirier, president and chief executive officer of TC Energy, said the transaction supports its capital allocation strategy and allows it to reinvest proceeds from a mature asset into growth opportunities in North America. After the deal, TC Energy retains in Mexico around 3,300 kilometers of pipelines and 8,700 million cubic feet per day of installed capacity.

The next milestone is regulatory: the closing in the first half of 2027 depends on approvals and consents that have not yet been detailed. Esentia, which trades on the Mexican Stock Exchange since its recent debut, also reported that it does not yet have the accounting information for the prospectus of its corporate restructuring and expects to have it within the next 80 calendar days.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.