The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted Feb. 15 to approve a cross-border pipeline segment that is part of a plan to take more U.S. natural gas to Mexico’s west coast for export.
The FERC voted in favor of a 48-inch diameter, 1,000-meter pipeline segment that crosses the Texas-Mexico border. The segment is part of the 655-mile ONEOK’s Saguaro Connector Pipeline, which is planned to follow a route from the Waha Hub in Pecos County to Puerto Libertad on Mexico’s West Coast.
RELATED: ONEOK Asks FERC to Grant Permian-Mexico Connector Pipeline
The segment that crosses the border is the only part of the line that requires federal approval, as the remainder of the line on the U.S. side is entirely within Texas borders.
Once completed, the line will have a capacity of about 2.8 Bcf/d. The LNG plant on Mexico’s coast has yet to reach final investment decision. Mexico Pacific LNG expects to spend about $15 billion on the LNG project.
The pipeline has been opposed by environmental groups and some of the people who live along the route, such as residents of the small West Texas town of Van Horn, where the line will pass within a mile of city limits.
Recommended Reading
Exclusive: Can NatGas Save the 'Fragile' Electric Grid?
2024-02-28 - John Harpole, the founder and president of Mercator Energy, says he is concerned about meeting peak electric demand and if investors will hesitate on making LNG export facilities investment decisions after the Biden administration's recent LNG pause, in this Hart Energy LIVE Exclusive interview.
Exclusive: Adkins on Challenged Gas Prices, Growing Crude Demand
2024-05-15 - J. Marshall Adkins, head of energy investment banking at Raymond James, details the future of natural gas prices and misconceptions about crude demand coming to an end in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
Exclusive: Chevron Balancing Low Carbon Intensity, Global Oil, Gas Needs
2024-03-28 - Colin Parfitt, president of midstream at Chevron, discusses how the company continues to grow its traditional oil and gas business while focusing on growing its new energies production, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
Exclusive: Despite Uncertainty, NatGas Balances Out
2024-03-04 - McKinsey and Co.'s Luciano Di Fiori says the natural gas market is capable of balancing itself out—despite LNG permit approval pauses, midstream constraints and dependence on oil production—in this Hart Energy LIVE Exclusive interview with Editorial Director Jordan Blum.
Exclusive: Renewables Won't Promise Affordable Security without NatGas
2024-03-25 - Greg Ebel, president and CEO of midstream company Enbridge, says renewables needs backing from natural gas to create a "nice foundation" for affordable and sustainable industrial growth, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.