On Friday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that US Sempra Energy would be able to obtain a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility export, IEnova, an export permit if it assists in addressing excess supply in northwest Mexico.
The president argued that as the state-owned power company Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) the northern Pacific coastal region does not consume natural gas to generate electricity, there is an excess of the fuel.
Previously, Sempra had indicated that IEnova was near to gaining the permit for an LNG plant at its existing regasification terminal near Ensenada, in Baja California.
Apparently, Obrador’s request signaled a walk-back of the government’s interest for IEnova to construct a second LNG export facility before approving the Ensenada plant as according to the president, a second plant would be costly and time-consuming.
If approved, the LNG export permit would be Mexico’s first of its kind. It would feature an initial export capacity of around 3 million tpa. Mexico could also prospect in exporting to the Asian market, where natural gas prices are significantly higher than in the Americas.
