LNG Exports from Mexico in Limbo While Pipeline Project Plows Ahead
By Martha Pskowski
Mexico anticipates exporting liquified natural gas for the first time this year. But prospects for the country’s nascent LNG industry—where each export terminal requires more than one billion dollars in investment—have cooled following the Biden administration’s pause in January on new export permits.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.