The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that the completion of the Wahaljara system could help to increase US natural gas exports by pipeline to Mexico. The Wahalajara system is a network of pipelines connecting the Waha natural gas hub western Texas to demand centres in western and central Mexico.
EIA expects utilization of the Wahalajara system to quickly increase following the start-up of the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara (VAG) pipeline, which is the southernmost part of the system. The 0.89 Bcfd VAG pipeline startup will follow the start-up of other segments.
US natural gas exports to Mexico reached a record 5.5 Bcfd in October 2019 after the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline was completed in September 2019. US natural gas shipments from Brownsville, Texas, to Veracruz in Mexico averaged 0.6 Bcfd during Q4 2019, accounting for only 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.
Two regional pipelines (the 1.1 Bcfd Comanche Trail pipeline and the 1.4 Bcfd Trans-Pecos pipeline) were completed in 2017. However, delays in pipeline construction in Mexico caused these pipelines to be used at far below their capacity. As a result, natural gas shipments from this region increased by only 0.2 Bcfd from 2016 to 2019.
