Pemex has been mired in debt and plagued by setbacks for many years now, but a JV with Woodside Energy may signal the beginning of a turnaround. The 100-Mb/d Trion project, Pemex’s first ultra-deepwater development, is proceeding on schedule and budget and is slated to deliver its first oil in 2028.
A natural gas pipeline deal that gives privately held Esentia Energy a complete, start-to-finish link between the Permian Basin and Mexico’s Pacific Coast is highlighting a heretofore under-the-radar LNG project being planned at the end of that now-1,400-mile pipeline system.
Westward Ho! — North American Gas Finding the Short Way to Asia
Enbridge has launched a non-binding open season for West Texas Express, a 2-Bcf/d pipeline to move Permian natural gas from the Waha Hub to near El Paso. It is aimed at meeting local demand for power projects, and potentially data centers, while also providing connectivity to other markets.
Despite ongoing efforts by Pemex to boost production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, the Mexican market still depends on imports from the U.S. for just over half of its refined product needs. And moving nearly 700 Mb/d of transportation fuels to population centers south of the border is no easy task.
U.S. exports of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to Mexico have been mostly rising the past 15 years. Over that same period, the Mexican government’s policy on the import-related roles of state-owned Pemex and private companies has zigged and zagged, slowing efforts to develop new midstream infrastructure.
Mexico’s still-rising demand for U.S.-sourced natural gas — and new pipelines to deliver it — has been driven by the buildout of new power plants and, more recently, by planned LNG exports. Today, we discuss more private-sector midstreamers and the new gas demand that may bring them new opportunities.
Mexico’s process for planning new gas pipelines is very top-down, with state-owned Cenagas and CFE playing key roles. But the buildout of pipelines there has been largely accomplished by private-sector companies that are now planning another round of projects that will spur more gas exports from the U.S.
In Mexico, state-owned players like Cenagas and CFE continue to play central roles in planning and underpinning the development of natural gas pipelines. At the same time, however, Mexico has leveraged the participation of a handful of private-sector companies that have built a significant share of the newer pipelines there.
Dangote eyes a massive expansion but still struggles to reach capacity. Dos Bocas faces steeper hurdles. New refineries worldwide keep hitting the wall as bold plans collide with tough execution.
