Three more liquefied natural gas companies are seeking a spot inside a new export terminal that is planned to be built inside the Port of Brownsville.
Port of Brownsville Director & CEO Eduardo Campirano spoke to the San Antonio Business Journal about the plans.
Campirano said the port is hoping to become a hub to take natural gas from the Eagle Ford shale region and export it to Mexico or other nations where there is high demand and low supply.
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The Eagle Ford shale region just south of San Antonio produced 4.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2014, according to figures from the Texas Railroad Commission.
Just this week, both Texas LNG and Annova LNG submitted pre-filing letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking regulators to approve their proposed terminals along the Brownsville Ship Channel.
Campirano told the San Antonio Business Journal that three more companies: Gulf Coast LNG, NextDecade LNG and SEG Sideco LNG are also looking to build facilities in the Port of Brownsville.
If approved, the LNG terminals would provide hundreds of jobs and could be on-line as soon 2019 or 2020.
Natural gas is currently trading around $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, but the multibillion-dollar projects are long-term investments, Campirano said.
"These are projects that take years for development," Campirano said. "Today's prices may not be the same tomorrow."
Unlike other ports in Texas, the 40,000-acre Port of Brownsville has ample acres of land available for future projects, Campirano said.
One group named " Save RGV from LNG" is opposed to the terminal project citing environmental concerns.
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