Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission LP is proposing a pipeline expansion project to carry natural gas produced in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas across the Mexican border.

“The South Texas Expansion Project is designed to provide an efficient means to transport these supplies to a delivery point with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex),” the pipeline said in a document describing the project. A binding open season runs through June 29; service is targeted for summer 2014. The expansion would have a maximum overall capacity of 300,000 Dth/d, depending upon open season results.

The “market pull” project is expected to cost less than $50 million, a Spectra spokesperson told NGI’s Shale Daily. Texas Eastern currently moves 200,000-300,000 Dth/d of Eagle Ford gas both directly and indirectly through various meters, the spokesperson said. “We expect this to increase over the next couple of years,” she said.

“The proposed paths for the project include receipt locations of up to 150,000 Dth/d from Texas Eastern’s interconnection with TransTexas Transmission Corp. (Meter No. 72592) and up to 150,000 Dth/d from Texas Eastern’s interconnection with Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC (Meter No. 75558) in the STX rate zone,” the pipeline said. “Both receipt point locations will have a single delivery point at Texas Eastern’s interconnection with Pemex (Meter No. 70333 in Reynosa, Mexico) for up to a total volume of 300,000 Dth/d.”

For information on the open season, contact Leah Moss at (713) 627-5054.

Earlier this year El Paso Natural Gas Co. filed an application at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build U.S.-Mexico border-crossing facilities to supply gas to the expanding power generation market in northern Mexico. El Paso’s Norte Crossing facilities would deliver up to 366,000 Mcf/d to a new delivery interconnect with Tarahumara Pipeline at the border. Mexico’s Comision Federal De Electricidad (CFE) has contracted with Tarahumara Pipeline S. de R.L. de C.V. to build a 36-inch diameter line to the proposed Norte II power plant, to be sited near Chihuahua, Mexico. The El Paso pipeline has also planned to increase the export capacity of the Samalayuca border-crossing line in El Paso County, TX.

Mexico’s CFE has proposed building five power plants over the next 15 years to serve new power generation demand in the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila in northern Mexico.