Tidelands Oil & Gas Corp., a San Antonio, TX-based developer of midstream oil and gas assets, said Thursday it has filed applications with FERC to build the U.S. leg of its Northeast Hub Pipeline, which would link natural gas markets in the United States and Mexico.

The U.S. portion of the pipeline project, to be located in South Texas, would provide an interconnect between the North American gas pipeline grid and gas supplies and markets in northern Mexico, according to the company. Tidelands’ subsidiary Sonora Pipeline LLC will own and operate the U.S. part of the system, while Terranova Energia S de RL de CV, Tidelands’ Mexican subsidiary, will own and operate the system in Mexico.

The Northeast Hub project would include two lines — the Missouri Line, a 172-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline that would extend from the Gilmore Plant in Hidalgo County, TX, to markets in the city of Monterrey, Mexico; and the Progresso Line, a 65-mile, 30-inch diameter system that would run from the Donna Station in Hidalgo County to the Campo Brazil storage facility in the Burgos Hub area in northern Mexico. The combined capacity of the two lines will be approximately 1 Bcf/d, Tidelands said.

The company noted that a potential third phase is planned to connect the proposed Dorado LNG regasification terminal in the Gulf of Mexico to the Campo Brazil storage facility, thereby providing pipeline access for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports into the U.S.

“We have completed much of the groundwork, including the environmental surveys required to further this important infrastructure project,” said Tidelands President James B. Smith. He noted that the first phase of the Northeast Hub project is expected to be operational in 2009.

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