SpaceX is planning a new gas pipeline across the Brownsville Ship Channel. Here’s what we know 

SpaceX is moving forward with the next step of its rocket launch site infrastructure near the entrance of Boca Chica beach in Cameron County, according to records from federal and state regulators, in addition to the Port of Brownsville. 

SpaceX plans to construct a 16-inch natural gas transmission pipeline that would span more than 8 miles from the north side of the Brownsville Ship Channel to the launch pad facility on the south side — crossing the Port of Brownsville property, wildlife refuge wetlands, and the new city of Starbase near Boca Chica Beach. 

In late May, the Port of Brownsville Navigation District board approved a 30-foot-wide right-of-way easement for SpaceX’s plans. 

Brownsville Port Director William Dietrich told the board on May 20 that the pipeline would transfer LNG, also known as liquefied natural gas, which is a supercooled, processed, and compressed product of natural gas from a gas field’s wellhead. 

It was not immediately clear whether the pipeline would transport natural gas directly or LNG, which would, in theory, be processed by an LNG export terminal on the ship channel’s north side, where the pipeline would originate. 

Natural gas industry experts say it’s unlikely this pipeline would carry LNG, as that would require a cryogenic pipeline for the supercooled, compressed product and would produce a massive volume of LNG for use, rather than natural gas, which could then be converted into LNG with an on-site liquefaction plant at SpaceX. 

The SpaceX affiliate’s pipeline, dubbed Starpipe, is expected to interconnect to the Bay Runner pipeline, Dietrich told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal in mid-June. 

When asked about whether the pipeline would carry LNG from one port tenant to another, such as the NextDecade LNG export terminal, Dietrich responded that collaboration is common. 

“Between tenants, there is some [collaboration] on a need-to-be-basis. I think the pipeline will be coming from the Bay Runner pipeline that will be going across the channel over to SpaceX. Definitely, there is some coordination that needs to happen because we are neighbors and there’s going to be things that they need, and we need to work together on it,” he said. 

During the board meeting, Dietrich explained that SpaceX will be crossing leased land by other tenants. Then he showed a map with leased land by Austin-based startup Saronic Technologies, which is an autonomous U.S. Navy vessel contractor considering the port. 

The board approved SpaceX’s use of 71 acres of temporary workspace within the port for construction activities over the next 12 months, and SpaceX expects to work in partnership with the port on the final pipeline alignment. 

In exchange, the annual easement would cost more than $17,900, plus a channel crossing fee of $1 million, a $28,500 annual site lease, $336,000 for temporary workspace, and $30,000 per month for any months after the initial year. 

So that’s a minimum of roughly $1.38 million in potential lease and easement fees in exchange for the Starpipe natural gas pipeline. That figure does not include the monthly fee. 

SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development LLC plans to construct Starpipe starting on July 7, according to Texas Railroad Commission records. 

The proposed pipeline comes as SpaceX moves forward with plans for new fuel infrastructure at Starbase.

SpaceX’s launch pad infrastructure near the entrance of Boca Chica Beach is expected to include two liquefied natural gas plants, liquid methane generation, tank farm expansion, and a power plant, according to the company’s application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

It was not immediately clear how the power plant would generate electricity; it could be powered by natural gas or LNG. Both of those gases are also used as feedstock for launching rockets. 

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.