Largest US gas export pipeline to Mexico delayed

HOUSTON, October 5, 2018 – The Valley Crossing Pipeline between Texas and Mexico will not start up until April 2019, international media reported on Thursday, shortly after US regulators approved a separate gas link between the two countries.

Initially scheduled to come on line this month, Valley Crossing is to be the largest pipeline exporting US gas to Mexico, with a capacity of up to 73.6 mcm (2.6 bcf) of gas per day once complete.

Poor weather conditions and setbacks on the Mexican side have forced a delay in testing until the Mexican portion is completed, said Canada’s Enbridge, the pipeline’s operator on the US side, in comments cited by the Houston Chronicle. Infraestructura Marina de Golfo, a joint venture between TransCanada and local infrastructure company IEnova, will operate the pipeline south of the border, where it is known as the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline.

In an order published on Monday, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it approved Kinder Morgan’s USD 56.4-million Sierrita gas pipeline expansion project to boost gas flows between Tucson, Arizona and the Mexican border to 9.15 mcm (323 mcf) per day.

Read our latest insights on: