The U.S. State Department recommended that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grant Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. an amended presidential permit to expand a cross-border natural gas pipeline that delivers supplies from the U.S. to Mexico, the San Antonio Business Journal reported June 13.

The State Department delivered its recommendation in a June 11 letter to FERC. In December 2017, Tennessee Gas, a Kinder Morgan Inc. subsidiary, requested that FERC make changes to the certificate and presidential permit for its Pemex border-crossing facilities to allow the company to raise the import and export transportation capacity to 468 MMcf/d from 185,000 Dth/d. The capacity increase would not require new construction or modifications.

The 500-foot pipeline of the Pemex facilities runs from an interconnection with the Tennessee Gas system in the border town of Hidalgo, Texas, to the system of Pemex Gas & Basic Petrochemicals at the border with Mexico. The expansion would allow Tennessee Gas to respond to growing demand for U.S.-connected gas transportation capacity from Pemex and other Mexican customers.

The San Antonio Business Journal said U.S. gas distribution companies such as Pivotal Utility Holdings Inc., New Jersey Natural Gas Co., NJR Energy Services Co., Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. and Range Resources - Appalachia LLC, sensitive to the fact that gas moving through the Pemex facilities might come from the Appalachian and Eagle Ford shale plays, have filed motions to intervene in Tennessee Gas' amended permit application.