Prices for Mexican domestic welded steel pipes closed at US$915/mt ex-mill this week, reflecting an increase of US$5/mt compared to prices reported two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, structural steel tubing prices maintained at the level of US$859/mt ex-mill during last two weeks.
Demand for pipe in the Mexican domestic market is expected to improve in the long-term, as the construction of The Ramones gas pipeline network, to be built in multiple phases, will add 1,200 kilometers of pipeline from Agua Dulce, Texas, to Guanajuato, in the industrial central region of Mexico. The first stage will be ready by the end of 2014 and will add a capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day (CFPD) of natural gas.
Between 2017 and 2018, a new pipeline will be built from The Ramones to Altamira, Tamaulipas, with an extension between 250 and 300 kilometers and an investment of US$1 billion. By 2020, the pipeline will extend between 700 and 800 with the construction of the section from The Ramones to an industrial city of Monterrey, then to Zacatecas and end up in Aguascalientes, in the Bajío--a region strong in industry growth, especially the automotive sector. This project's total investment will be over US$2.5 billion.