FERC has approved a certificate giving Sonora Pipeline LLC, a subsidiary of Tidelands Oil & Gas Corp., the go-ahead for its proposed pipeline at the U.S.-Mexican border.

The project calls for the construction of a 29-mile, 30-inch diameter U.S. pipe leg of a system that would extend into Mexico via two border crossings, all to be located in Hidalgo County, TX. FERC issued a presidential permit to build the two bidirectional border crossing facilities at the international boundary between the United States and Mexico (see Daily GPI, Dec. 8, 2005).

The proposed gas pipeline in the U.S. would interconnect with a pipeline system being developed by another wholly owned subsidiary of San Antonio, TX-based Tidelands, Terranova Energia S. de R.L. de C.V. Terranova received approval from the Comision Reguladora de Energia (CRE) for the interconnecting pipeline segments in Mexico in May 2006.

The pipeline systems in the U.S. and Mexico are known as the Burgos Hub Export/Import Project, which is being developed to meet the growing demand for natural gas imports into Mexico. Gas demand is expected to increase dramatically beginning in 2010, according to Tidelands.

The pipelines also would be interconnected with a proposed underground natural gas storage facility that is being developed by Terranova to serve Mexican power generation and industrial customer needs for management of swings in demand and seasonal spread in gas prices.

Terranova has applied for a permit at CRE to construct and operate the storage facility, and is expecting a decision sometime in the third quarter, Tidelands said.

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