Mexico Is Becoming The Single-Largest U.S. Shale Gas Export Customer

On December 2, 2014, President Enrique Peña Nieto inaugurated Phase I of the new Los Ramones Gas Pipeline, which could by year end 2016 double the volume of gas the U.S. exports by pipeline to Mexico.¹ Pipelines to Mexico already move a volume of gas equivalent to more than 16 million tonnes per year of LNG.² Once Los Ramones reaches full capacity, U.S. gas producers will be able to export to Mexico more than seven times the annual gas volume that Osaka Gas and Chubu Electric—two of Freeport LNG's largest LNG export customers—have signed up to purchase.³

The first 116 km stage of the pipeline project links Agua Dulce, Texas, to Los Ramones, Nuevo Leon. Phase II of the project is a 738 km line from Los Ramones into Mexico's industrial heartland, including San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, and Querétaro.⁴ Phase II began construction in August 2014 and will likely enter commercial service by early 2016.⁵