Nueva Era Pipeline

The slower-than-hoped-for build-out of natural gas pipelines and gas-fired power plants in Mexico has been a source of frustration for producers in the Permian Basin, who face pipeline takeaway constraints to their west, north and east and who desperately want to send more gas south. But it’s not just the Permian that benefits as the doors to the Mexican market creak open. The Eagle Ford — the Permian’s less glamorous step-sister — was the primary source of the first wave of gas exports to points south of the border. Now, with the recent opening of the Nueva Era Pipeline from the Rio Grande to power plants and other customers in Monterrey and Escobedo, another Mexican demand outlet will be made available to South Texas producers. Today, we discuss Howard Energy Partners and Grupo CLISA’s newly completed pipeline and the boost it gives to Eagle Ford production.

Natural gas exports to Mexico are on a tear, and there’s every reason to believe the market will continue to grow. In essence, parts of the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin are becoming the go-to fuel source for new power plants and industrial facilities south of the border, as evidenced by a Howard Energy Partners plan to build new, connecting pipelines to deliver large volumes of gas directly from South Texas to emerging demand centers in and around Monterrey, Mexico. Howard’s also been addressing some of Texas’s gas gathering and processing needs. Today, we consider the latest plan to add gas pipeline capacity across the Rio Grande.