Mexican state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) plans to develop a natural gas liquefaction and export terminal on the country’s Pacific Coast.

The terminal would cost about US$6 billion and be the first of its kind in Mexico, according to a translation of a Pemex announcement posted Wednesday on its website.

It was not clear from the brief announcement where the gas to feed the project would come from, as Mexico is increasingly a net importer of natural gas, particularly through new pipelines from the United States (see Daily GPI, Oct. 31). Mexico also relies on imports of LNG to meet its growing demand for gas, particularly from power generators.

Pemex said the project would leverage Mexico’s geographic location to take advantage of opportunities to ship LNG produced in the Gulf of Mexico to markets in Asia and Oceania. The terminal could be online in 2020, Pemex said. Site selection studies could begin soon.

This week, Sempra Energy executives said the company was pondering whether to convert the Energia Costa Azul LNG receiving terminal on the Pacific Coast in Baja California, Mexico, to an export terminal (see Daily GPI, Nov. 5).

Pemex said it will be looking for partners with LNG expertise and capital for the project.