QUERETARO, Mexico – ExxonMobil has opened eight Mobil-branded gas stations in Mexico, UPI reports. The company will open 50 more stations during the first quarter of 2018, under a 10-year, $300 million plan to capture Mexican market share.

“The opening of these first eight Mobil service stations, made possible by Mexico's new energy policy regime, is a significant milestone for the country and our company,” said Carlos Rivas, fuels director for ExxonMobil Mexico.

The stations will be branded Mobil but operated by Grupo Orsan, a Mexican company. Railcars will deliver fuel across the border from Exxon’s Texas refineries. These exports will push the United States to become a net gas exporter for the second consecutive year, with Mexico as the biggest consumer of U.S. gas.

In September, Royal Dutch Shell opened its first service stations in Mexico, as part of its decade-long strategy to penetrate the Mexican fuel market. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s break up of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) monopoly paved the way for outside companies like ExxonMobil and Shell to operate gas stations in the country.