Potential change in post-election US policy fuels Mexico gas fears

Mexican business leaders are concerned future imports of US natural gas may be at risk if the next president of the US changes trade policy.

Francisco Xavier Salazar Diez de Sollano, the chair of the Mexico committee of the World Energy Council (WEC), made the announcement during an energy conference at the Institute of the Americas in San Diego this week.

"Among the themes of concern is a change in US policy," Salazar Diez was quoted by El Economista newspaper as saying.

He said such concerns had been expressed by Mexican business leaders in an internal WEC survey.

In Mexico, natural gas from the US is primarily used in electricity generation.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (pictured) has already voiced disdain for Mexico and proposed measures such as building a wall along the US-Mexico border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

Trump has also expressed his opposition to free trade deals such as Nafta, which has raised concern in Mexico that a rolling back or modification of the agreement would harm the country's exports.

PIPELINE INVESTMENT

Mexico is investing billions of dollars in expanding its pipeline network, aiming to add 10,000km by 2018, including the construction of cross-border ducts to import more gas, in addition to the conversion of its power stations from fuel oil to natural gas, which is a cheaper and cleaner-burning fuel.

UNFOUNDED FEARS?

But beyond the vote-gathering rhetoric and his diatribes against Mexico, Trump has shown scant regard to Latin America, and another likely scenario is that Trump as president would simply ignore Latin America, BNamericas columnist David Roberts wrote in an opinion piece this week.