NET Midstream announced that its affiliate, NET Mexico Pipeline Partners, LLC has completed construction of its 120-mile, 42” and 48” Texas intrastate pipeline ahead of schedule. NET Mexico, which achieved mechanical completion in October, has concluded commissioning activities and is now operational and able to deliver natural gas to the Mexico border.
NET Midstream announced that its affiliate, NET Mexico Pipeline Partners, LLC has completed construction of its 120-mile, 42” and 48” Texas intrastate pipeline ahead of schedule. NET Mexico, which achieved mechanical completion in October, has concluded commissioning activities and is now operational and able to deliver natural gas to the Mexico border.
“We are pleased to be in-service ahead of schedule” said Jerry Dearing, Co-President of NET. “Our team successfully implemented our innovative project design and met every milestone and challenge.”
The design capacity of NET Mexico is 2.3 Bcf/d (billions of cubic feet per day), which can be expanded to 3.0 Bcf/d with additional compression. NET Mexico will initially operate with 50,000 HP of compression, ramping up to 114,000 HP in late 2015. NET Mexico is anchored by a long term firm gas transportation agreement, for up to 2.1 Bcf/d, with MexGas Supply Ltd., a subsidiary of Pemex.
“MexGas has been an excellent partner throughout this process, and we look forward to continuing our relationship for years to come.” continued Joe Gutierrez, Co-President of NET. “NET Mexico is a crucial component of Mexico’s amazing energy reform.”
NET Mexico’s Agua Dulce Hub will include over 4 Bcf/d of receipt capacity from nine gas pipelines and four gas processing plants. The hub includes three large-diameter header lines, as well as bi-directional meters at many points, with 2.6 Bcf/d of capacity, affording shippers maximum supply liquidity and optionality. Additionally, NET is in discussions with several potential shippers to subscribe to a 700,000 MMBtu/d compression expansion of NET Mexico. The pipeline runs from the central connection Agua Dulce, close to the border community of Rio Grande City Point, in the county of Starr.
NET Mexico will offer intrastate service from Eagle Ford Midstream (also owned by NET), Enterprise Intrastate Pipeline among other suppliers. Service from Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America and Tennessee Gas Pipeline will be offered under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Natural Gas Policy Act which will be added soon.
Frontier culture creates woman leaders
Leadership Texas is a 32-year-old running program to develop women leaders in the US. Leadership Texas consistently provides exceptional opportunities that enhance participants’ value to their organizations and fields of interest. Each year, the series of interactive, expert-led sessions are crafted to expand each woman’s understanding of the interconnectedness of the myriad of issues, dynamics and cultures that propel the state, nation and globe.
Some 3,000 women are graduates of the statewide program, competitively chosen from a wide field of applicants to reflect the unique diversity of personal and professional backgrounds of the society as a whole.
Next year the statewide program returns to El Paso and more than 80 women leaders from Texas will visit the city. The theme for 2015 is the future of the community.
Every year, the leadership development program takes women to four different Texas cities to learn about other communities and network with other influential women.
“We want to go in and see what is working in communities across Texas, what is replicable and scalable, because the problems and opportunities that El Paso has are very similar to other cities in Texas,” Leadership Texas’ CEO O’Keefe-Mathis said.
El Paso is leading the state in many areas. One of those areas is water conservation and participants will tour El Paso’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination plant.
Over the years, 220 El Paso women have been active in the program. Some of them include former mayor Suzie Azar, engineer and volunteer Linda Troncoso and Center Against Family Violence executive director Stephanie Karr. Serving on this year’s national board is Selina Solis, an assistant federal public defender in El Paso. Sandra Braham, CEO of El Paso YWCA, participated in the program in 2009.
O’Keefe-Mathis mentioned that the reason there are an especially large number of women in leadership positions in El Paso is because of the city’s frontier roots.
“I think it is that frontier culture of El Paso that has created strong people, period, and especially women,” she said.
Governor Vega de Lamadrid Speaks at the 2014 International Trade Summit
The International Trade Summit Las Vegas (ITS) was established in 2013 by the Korean Chamber of Commerce Las Vegas (KCCLV) to be a catalyst to strengthen free trade partnerships and diversify Nevada’s economy. The summit through the auspices of the Korean International Trade Association, the Korean Investment Promotion Agency, the US Department of Commerce and the State of Nevada Economic Development, proved to be a success.
The 2nd Annual ITS Las Vegas was hosted by KCCLV in partnership with the Nevada Governor’s office of Economic Development (GOED).
This two-day event featured Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval and U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration Mr. Antwaun Griffin, Deputy Assistant Secretary for U.S. Operations as Keynote Speaker.
The event presented networking opportunities with key government officials and business executives from 14 countries, and introduced attendees from several Mexican states as well as other US states to listen to experts in the fields of trade and foreign investment.
Governor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid of Baja California was one of the keynote speakers at the ITS. He was there to attract foreign direct investment to Baja California, to promote employment, to increase exports, to boost small and medium-sized enterprises and to strengthen commercial ties with leading countries in international markets.
Vega de Lamadrid emphasized that the ITS is very important tool to promote the advantages of Baja California, as a border state with a strategic location, professional and skilled labor and also to create agreements and relations with countries interested in investing in Mexico, as well as those who already have investments established in the state.
Governor Vega de Lamadrid emphasized that during the ITS he addressed trade and investment issues with Nevada authorities in order to unite efforts in promoting both states; Baja California and Nevada have projects in common and they will seek joint efforts to establish a working group as a follow up to binational strategies. During his visit he also met with authorities from Gyeonggi, Korea.
Fisher & Paykel Expands Operations in Tijuana
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited announced that it would expand its manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico, creating 200 new jobs.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, based in New Zealand, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The company’s products and systems are sold in over 120 countries worldwide.
The $4 million fit-out will increase the Mexico facility manufacturing area by two thirds and will accommodate the installation of additional manufacturing equipment over the next three years for products such as breathing systems and masks. The company expects the plant to be manufacturing approximately half of the company’s consumable product volume within three years.
“We have brought forward the expansion of the Tijuana facility to ensure that we can meet anticipated demand as a result of strong customer acceptance of products such as our new masks and Optiflow oxygen therapy system”, said Mr. Daniell.
“Our focus on medical devices which can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of care supports the increasing emphasis of health systems on patient outcomes. For example, in the United States later this year, Medicare will begin to penalize hospitals for excessive chronic respiratory patient readmissions. We believe that this will increase the demand for our products which can help to improve care in the home for patients with chronic respiratory disease”.
Governor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid and Mayor Jorge Astiazaran Orce attended the official ceremony where executives from the company announced the expansion.
Lewis Gradon, Senior Vice President – Products & Technology, stated that Tijuana was a well-chosen location when they decided to open operations in 2008. With the new expansion the company total investment is $20 million.
For more information about the company visit www.fphcare.com
$86 million approved to take Texas border surveillance from defense to offense
A panel of Texas lawmakers authorized spending an additional $86.1 million on the state’s law enforcement to continue an implementation crackdown along the Texas’ border with Mexico, a move that will allow National Guard units to be gradually replaced by state troopers and surveillance technology. This action was taken even though the overflow of undocumented immigrants has decreased.
The two-party Legislative Budget Board integrated by 10 Senate and House members, approved the additional funding, notwithstanding Democrats’ concerns during the hearing about a “militarized border”. Some Republicans also manifested being concerned about the need of the National Guard for longer than planned if President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration generates a new surge of illegal immigrants crossing into Texas.
Gov. Rick Perry ordered up to 1,000 guardsmen to the Rio Grande Valley in July amidst a record wave of illegal border crossings that has since decelerated, claiming at the time the influx of immigrants had made it easier for drug and criminal gangs to operate. All guardsmen are set to return home by April 2015.
The board’s vote takes funding from other, mostly unrelated parts of the state budget, including money left over after other agencies paid down outstanding debts. It means the surge is now financed through August 2015.
The extra funding covers overtime payments that will mean the equivalent of 640 additional state troopers and other police personnel, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said. He also indicated that, unlike guardsman who couldn’t make arrests, troopers can stop illegal activity, moving the state “from defense to offense.”
The number of unaccompanied minors — which accounted for much of the immigration influx — apprehended in South Texas dropped by 42 percent in October 2014 compared with October 2013.
Texas Department of Public Safety statistics using Border Patrol data show that, during the first week of the state’s Operation Strong Safety in late June, 6,606 people were apprehended where state forces were deployed. That number fell to 1,521 in the week ending Nov. 1.