New York, July 26, 2021
Expansion of Mexico’s natural gas pipeline network has enabled United States to export a record 7.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfpd) in June.
Wood Mackenzie data shows exports from the US to Mexico surpassed 7 Bcfpd on multiple days during June. US recorded the highest supply of gas 7.4 Bcfpd on June 17.
Pipeline imports accounted for 76% of Mexico’s total natural gas supply in June 2021, compared to 40% in June 2015. Mexico has reduced both its natural gas production and imports of LNG as a share of its total natural gas supply.
US natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico reached an average 6.8 Bcfpd in June 2021, up 25% from June 2020 and 44% more than the previous five-year (2016–2020) monthly average.
Gasprocessingnews.com which published this news, expects these record-high flows, driven by increased power demand, high temperatures, and greater industrial demand in June, to continue through the summer.
New pipeline additions launched in 2020 and in the first half of 2021 increased the volume of natural gas flowing to natural gas-fired power plants, industrial plants, and pipeline interconnections throughout Mexico.
Two cross-border pipelines drove this growth. The 2.6 Bcfpd capacity Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Pipeline which delivers natural gas from the US border at Brownsville, Texas, to Tuxpan in Veracruz, Mexico. The second network, the Trans-Pecos Pipeline (part of Wahalajara), which has a capacity of 1.4 Bcfpd and delivers natural gas from the US border at Presidio, Texas.
The Sur de Texas-Tuxpan Pipeline increased flows to an estimated 1.7 Bcfpd in June 2021, compared to levels of 0.8 Bcfpd one year ago. The pipeline’s volume increased because of expanded infrastructure in Mexico, which has allowed more natural gas to flow to power plants in the Mexico City region and to Mérida markets in the Yucatán Peninsula.
The Trans-Pecos Pipeline increased flows to the Wahalajara pipeline system to 0.8 Bcfpd, compared to levels of 0.2 Bcfpd one year ago. This pipeline connects the Waha Hub in West Texas to Guadalajara and other population centres in West-Central Mexico.
Some of this increase is the result of the increased flow capacity on the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara Pipeline (VAG) in Central Mexico and subsequent delivery points that entered service when the pipeline was completed in October 2020.
Access to increased natural gas imports has enabled Mexico to increase its use of natural gas to produce electricity. Power plants in Mexico used about 4.9 Bcfpd of natural gas for power generation in June, up 19% compared to last year.
Seasonally high temperatures in Northern and Central Mexico during June increased demand for electricity. Industrial sector natural gas demand reached 3.3 Bcfpd in June, up 31% compared to last year, driven by the return to pre-pandemic demand levels and the reversal of related economic effects.
Sourced from Gasprocessingnews.com
Authors Max Ober & Katie Dyl
The Pluralist 