A unit of Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) is holding a binding open season for expansion capacity on its Mier-Monterrey pipeline from the U.S.-Mexico border to Huinala, Nueva Leon, Mexico. The project includes a new lateral from Pesqueria to Escobedo, both in Nuevo Leon.

The pipeline’s capacity could be expanded to about 1.34 Bcf/d through pipeline looping, with new capacity available by the fourth quarter of 2017.

The 85-mile pipeline, owned by Kinder Morgan Gas Natural de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., has been in service since 2003 and stretches from the border in Starr County, TX, to Monterrey, Mexico (see Daily GPI, March 26, 2003). It connects to a 1,000 MW power plant complex and to the Pemex natural gas transportation system.

“We received significant interest from our initial open season on this project as natural gas demand in Mexico continues to increase [see Daily GPI, April 23],” said KMI’s Duane Kokinda, president of natural gas midstream. “The proposed looping project utilizes and expands upon our existing assets to provide a low-cost option for additional capacity to transport natural gas produced in the United States to the growing industrial and power-generating markets in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.”

The open season runs from Aug. 13 through Aug. 22. For information, contact Alex Araya, director of marketing and transport for Kinder Morgan Midstream, at alex_araya@kindermorgan.com or (713) 369-8820, or visit www.kindermorgan.com.

Cross-border flows of natural gas from the United States to Mexico are growing as Mexico relies increasingly on gas-fired power generation (see Daily GPI, Nov. 7, 2014).