Mexico May Limit LNG Exports

Experts have warned California not to rely on siting all of its liquefied natural gas terminals in Mexico, for fears that someday, the government may limit the amount of natural gas which could be passed-through to the State. Someday, according to the Wall Street Journal, is sooner than many thought:

Mexican Energy Minister Fernando Elizondo said Monday the
country is considering restricting the amount of liquefied natural gas
that can be received in Mexico for the benefit of U.S. consumers.

"We don't want to be just a port of entry and transit that leaves us
with the disadvantages and none of the advantages," Elizondo told a
small group of reporters at a Latin American energy conference in La
Jolla, Calif., organized by the Institute of the Americas.

Mexico is contemplating the incorporation of as many as nine natural gas
receiving terminals on its Gulf and Pacific coasts in the coming years.
The first facility is expected to start receiving the fuel by the end of
2006.

Elizondo said that government officials are discussing the possibility
of establishing a minimum percentage of liquefied natural gas imports
that must go to local populations.