Citing more discussion on the Mexican side of the border including its partner, San Diego-based Sempra Energy, PG&E Corp.’s National Energy Group (NEG) for the second time last week extended an open season on capacity on the 500 MMcf/d, 220-mile North Baja natural gas transmission pipeline. The open season previously had been extended until the end of last month, and they NEG indicated last week it now will run to the end of July.

A Portland, OR-based spokesperson for NEG said the open season is primarily to gauge shipper interest longer term in moving liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies (once re-gasified) from proposed receiving terminals on the Pacific Coast of North Baja. Sempra has one of the proposals now active before Mexican regulatory authorities, and apparently the regulators want to make sure a level playing field continues in the competition for building those LNG receiving facilities, the NEG spokesperson said..

Originally, announced last March, the open season now has no firm ending date yet, according to the NEG spokesperson. NEG operates the 80 miles of the pipeline in the United States from the Arizona-California border southerly into North Baja where the operation is picked up in Mexico by Sempra and its Mexican partner. Sempra is still awaiting approvals for its LNG facility from the Mexican federal energy regulatory agency that is similar to the U.S.Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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