How a Major Mexican Operator Delivered a Mission-Critical Pipeline on Schedule

THE CHALLENGE

No System to Manage ROW Acquisition at Scale

A major Mexican midstream operator was preparing to execute one of the largest pipeline programs in their history — a 48-inch inner-diameter liquid natural gas corridor stretching through central Mexico, with multiple simultaneous project lines running concurrently.

Their existing process relied entirely on spreadsheets and KMZ files. At the scale of this program, that approach was no longer viable. The single biggest operational bottleneck was the check authorization workflow: before a right-of-way agent in the field could issue payment to a landowner, the transaction had to be reviewed and approved by two separate legal teams.

Without a formal system to route, track, and document those approvals, the process was dependent on email chains and informal communication — a setup that introduced unacceptable risk for a project of this complexity and timeline. There were also unique legal and cultural requirements specific to Mexico's ROW process that no off-the-shelf tool was built to handle, including managing common-use areas known locally as hitos.

Core problems identified:

• No digital workflow to route check authorization requests to legal teams for approval
• No document management system for tracking permits, uploads, and compliance records
• Existing tools (spreadsheets, KMZs) not built for multi-corridor, multi-team coordination
• Mexico-specific ROW negotiation requirements not supported by any existing platform
• Project timeline at risk without a scalable acquisition management solution
  

THE SOLUTION

A Custom-Built ROW Acquisition Platform — in Spanish

Steel Shire deployed a combination of Skyray and Arpium, but what made this engagement distinctive was the degree to which SkyRay was adapted on the fly to meet this client's specific operational and legal requirements.

The Steel Shire development team built new functionality into SkyRay throughout the project — customizing the platform to accommodate Mexico's unique ROW negotiation process. Most significantly, SkyRay was fully localized into Spanish, making it the first Spanish-language deployment of the platform. All tract-level data entry, negotiation tracking, and workflow steps were presented in Spanish and structured around the client's internal process.

A formal check-request workflow — known internally as a solicitud de cheques — was built directly into SkyRay. Field agents could submit a payment request digitally, which was then routed to the appropriate legal team for review, approval, and any required modifications before a check could be issued. This created a clear, auditable approval chain and eliminated dependence on email.

Permit acquisition and document management were also handled within SkyRay, giving the team a single system to track uploads, compliance records, and required documentation across all corridors. Arpium served as the common operating picture — providing project leadership with real-time visibility into ROW status, construction progress, and overall project health across all simultaneous pipeline programs.

What was built and deployed:

• SkyRay fully localized in Spanish — first international deployment of the platform
• Custom solicitud de cheques workflow — digital check-request routing with legal team approval steps
• Permit and document management module built into SkyRay for compliance tracking
• Hito management — handling of Mexico-specific common-use area requirements
• Arpium deployed as real-time common operating picture for program-wide visibility
• Multi-corridor support — all simultaneous pipeline projects managed within a single platform instance
  

THE IMPACT

On-Schedule Delivery — and a Platform That Stayed

The operator successfully acquired right-of-way across all required landowners and hitos within the project's required timeline — a timeline that had been considered at serious risk before Steel Shire's involvement. Without a scalable acquisition management system, the ROW process could have taken years; instead, it was completed in just over a year.

The check-writing and approval process — previously one of the most time-consuming bottlenecks — was dramatically accelerated. By routing authorization requests digitally through SkyRay's legal approval workflow, the team cut weeks to months off what had previously been a slow, email-dependent process. Payments reached landowners faster, acquisitions closed sooner, and construction was able to begin on schedule.

Beyond the single project, the impact proved lasting. SkyRay became the operator's internal system of record for right-of-way management. Multiple subsequent pipeline projects — including Via de Reyes to Guadalajara and Ramal to Guadalajara — were onboarded into the same platform, and the operator continues to use it today.

Measurable outcomes:

• ROW acquisition completed within project timeline — avoiding a potential multi-year delay
• Weeks to months removed from the check authorization and landowner payment process
• Hundreds of landowners and hitos managed through a single, structured platform
• Permit acquisition and document compliance tracked in one system for the first time
• Platform adopted as internal system of record — now active across multiple pipeline programs
• Steel Shire relationship expanded to cover all simultaneous corridors in the program