Mexico's Energy Regulatory Commission, known by its Spanish acronym CRE, has granted the country's first permit to a private company, Invex, for the transportation of refined products in a pipeline. CRE sees this as the first step in enhancing the efficiency of the domestic fuel market.

The document allows Invex to install and operate the 24 inch, 265-km high-pressured Tajin pipeline system, which will connect Tuxpan port in Veracruz to the greater Mexico City region. ExxonMobil is one of the project's first off-takers and it intends to supply fuel to the region surrounding Mexico City in the first half of 2019 once Tajin's first phase was completed.

Tajin's storage capacity at Tuxpan port is set to be 1.4 million b/d and at Tula in Hidalgo, 96 km away from the center of Mexico City, 1.2 million b/d, Invex has said. This would be almost enough to cover all the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel requirements in Mexico's central region at 234,000 b/d, 88,800 b/d and 35,300 b/d respectively. The region spans Mexico City and the states of Puebla, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Morelos and Queretaro.

Mexico's central region has been experiencing rapid economic growth for years and as such is the focus of various competing pipeline systems aiming to supply via the Tuxpan port: Sierra Oil and Gas along with Grupo TMM, as well as Monterra Energy, are all striving to serve this coveted route. And Glencore's G500 Network has said it was an offtaker of Monterra's project.