Brazilian construction firm Oderbrecht has been awarded a US$935mn contract by Mexico's state oil giant Pemex to build the Los Ramones II Norte natural gas pipeline in northern Mexico. 

The 450km pipeline will run through the states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí and include two pumping stations. The work will be carried out by AOT Pipelines, a consortium comprising Odebrecht, Mexico's Arendal and Argentine firm Techint, Odebrecht said in a statement.

In April, engineering and construction venture ICA Fluor signed a contract with TAG Pipelines to build the southern stretch of Los Ramones II. 

ICA Fluor is a joint venture between Mexico's ICA and US company Fluor. The 291km southern stretch will connect the states of San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Guanajuato and require an investment of US$743mn, according to ICA Fluor. 

Pemex had launched a tender for the entire pipeline last October, which was declared void, and made the decision to split the project in two. 

Mexico's energy ministry Sener announced in May it plans to build 22 natural gas pipelines over the next 15 years to increase supply across the country as it strives to boost output to meet rising demand and to reduce prices.