Participants in Mexico’s natural gas and energy markets expressed their optimism for the future in the days following the midterm elections last Sunday
Mexico’s natural gas market continues to grow more intertwined with the United States as imports rise and domestic production stagnates. In April and May,
Mexico Natural Gas Market Spotlight: March Prices Come Back to Earth After February Shock
Mexico natural gas prices dropped to $3.61/MMBtu in March after soaring to $21.37/MMBtu in February, according to the latest IPGN monthly natural gas price index published by the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE).
The prices, however, were higher compared with March 2020, when the CRE reported prices of $2.22/MMBtu. The February prices reflected freezing weather in Texas and natural gas disruptions that impacted flows to Mexico.
The CRE used 278 transactions from information provided by 30 marketers to calculate the March index. The industrial northeast reported the highest volume of transactions at 2.183 Bcf/d.
COLUMN: Mexico’s Southeast Needs Urgent Natural Gas Planning, Investment
Editor’s Note: NGI’s Mexico Gas Price Index, a leader tracking Mexico natural gas market reform, is offering the following column by Eduardo Prud’homme as part of a regular series on understanding this process.
Prud’homme was central to the development of Cenagas, the nation’s natural gas pipeline operator, an entity formed in 2015 as part of the energy reform process. He began his career at national oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), worked for 14 years at the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE), rising to be chief economist, and from July 2015 through February served as the ISO chief officer for Cenagas, where he oversaw the technical, commercial and economic management of the nascent Natural Gas Integrated System (Sistrangas). Based in Mexico City, he is the head of Mexico energy consultancy Gadex.
Mexico Natural Gas Market Spotlight: As Peak Season Approaches, All Eyes on Rising Imports
Mexico’s natural gas market is importing more U.S. supply as the country’s economy and its weather heat up for summer and peak demand.
A single day U.S.-to-Mexico record was broken on April 14 when exports reached 7.1 Bcf/d, prompting analysts to adjust their import models upward.
Wood Mackenzie revised higher its summer forecast made in February by 400 MMcf/d, setting pipeline imports from the United States at an average of 6.7 Bcf/d for April-October. Gelber & Associates Inc. senior market analyst Dan Myers said Thursday he sees current flows to Mexico from the United States at around 6.5-7 Bcf/d.