U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico hit a new record amid sagging production south of the border.
Mexico imported about 6 billion cubic feet of natural per day from the United States in August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported late Thursday afternoon.
Some 5.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day was delivered via cross-border pipelines while another 860 million was delivered using liquefied natural gas import terminals, EIA data shows.
The record figures come at a time when natural gas production in Mexico continues to fall and demand from new power plants and factories is growing.
Mexico’s dry natural gas production was 2.4 billion cubic feet per day in October, according to Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. The figure marks a 7 percent decline from Oct. 2017 and a 21 percent drop from Oct. 2016.
EIA attributed Mexico’s sagging natural gas production to declining reserves, a low commodity prices and limited exploration and production of new wells.
Mexico has invested $10 billion to add more than 2,883 miles of natural pipeline since 2013 but many projects have faced long delays.
Earlier this month, Calgary-based TransCanada announced that it was halting two natural gas pipeline projects in the State of Hidalgo where if faced opposition from indigenous groups and alleged acts of extortion from public officials raising permit fees.
As part of sweeping reforms that went into effect in 2014, Mexico opened its long-closed energy markets to foreign investment and competition.
Many in the energy industry are waiting to see how Mexico’s president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador will handle energy reforms after he takes office on Dec. 1.