Valuing a natural gas pipeline expansion project: A copula-TGARCH application in Mexico

Resumen

With the liberalization of energy prices and the opening of the energy sector to competitors in Mexico, an opportunity for new investment projects is now open. Due to the current conditions of international energy markets, such as volatility and low prices with no prospect of reversion, a need for valuation tools to better capture the risk and benefits of a project presents itself. We propose a methodology based on the volatility treatment of numerous underlying assets in a Real Options Analysis: using a TGARCH for the individual volatilities and copulas for the joint effect. The methodology is applied to a natural gas distribution project of Mexico’s State oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). An estimated net present value of the gas pipeline is provided, considering the real options perspective. The result of our empirical application validates the real option’s theory of a higher net present value estimation for the project when incorporating the effect of different sources of uncertainty and non-linear interdependence.