Texas Governor Greg Abbott is back from his first official trip to Mexico. While he was there, the governor met Mexican President Enrique PeñaNieto and talked border security, trade and energy. As KUT’sMoseBuchele reports, cross-border energy issues are of growing importance on both sides of the border.
Mexico is Texas’ largest export market, and more than half of that trade is in petroleum and coal products. An energy-hungry Mexico is looking to import more natural gas from Texas. That means more — often controversial — pipeline projects across the border. Texas and Mexico can also share electricity through cross-border transmission line connections.
Finally, Mexico recently loosened its state-held monopoly on oil and gas production. So companies in Texas with expertise in the field are wondering how they can do business there. Put all these things together, and it’s no surprise that Abbott and Mexican officials used the visit to announce the creation of a Task Force on cross-border energy. According to the governor’s office it aims to promote investment and strengthen electric and natural gas infrastructure.
