Photo: Mike Brenna/Unsplash

By KELIN DILLON

According to figures from the U.S. Department of Energy, Mexico is expected to increase its purchase of natural gas from the United States over 2021 and the upcoming year due to higher demand and less production in Mexico itself.

In June of 2021, Mexico reportedly bought more than 7 billion cubic feet of gas on several different days of the month, according to data from global energy consultancy group Wood Mackenzie. On June 14, the gas delivered reached a historic level of 7.4 billion cubic feet sent to Mexico from the United States via pipeline.

“We expect that these record flows, driven by higher energy demand, high temperatures and higher demand in Mexico due to the enormous dependence on power plants that operate on natural gas, industrial plants and gas pipeline interconnections throughout Mexico, will continue into the summer,” said the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA also noted that Mexico bought 25 percent more U.S. natural gas this June than the same month the year previous, and a massive 44 percent more than June from five years ago.

“Power plants in Mexico used almost 4.9 billion cubic feet a day for power generation in June, 19 percent more compared to last year,” said the agency.

Because of the huge demand, the U.S. energy sector believes this is the first time that the United States’ natural gas exports will exceed its imports.