Natural gas exports from the US to Mexico grow 4%
Natural gas exports through pipelines from the United States to Mexico averaged 5.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in the first half of 2020, an increase of 4% compared to the same period last year.
US pipeline natural gas exports to Mexico have been growing gradually following an expansion of cross-border pipeline capacity from the United States to Mexico.
In June 2020, a portion of the Wahalajara pipeline system was put into service.
This pipeline system connects the natural gas supply from the Permian Basin of the United States at the Waha Hub with the central and western regions of Mexico.
Since then, natural gas external sales through US pipelines to Mexico have risen to 5.4 Bcf/d, displacing mainly Mexican LNG imports from the United States and other countries.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) anticipates that natural gas exports through US pipelines to Mexico will continue to grow in the coming months.
Natural gas exports
In 2017, the United States exported more natural gas than it imported annually for the first time in nearly 60 years, making it a net exporter of natural gas.
Since then, natural gas external sales in net terms from the United States have more than doubled each year: from 0.3 Bcf/d in 2017 to 2 Bcf/d in 2018 and to 5.2 Bcf/d in 2019.
Although growth in gas exports continued in the first six months of 2020 (compared to the same period in 2019), net exports began to decline in spring 2020 as a result of a global economic slowdown amidst the spread coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and related containment.
