According to the company’s website news release on December 22, 2022, Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE), announced that Energía Costa Azul, S. de R.L. de C.V. (ECA LNG) and Vista Pacifico, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (Vista Pacifico LNG) received authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to re-export U.S.-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Mexico to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) nations. The DOE's significant action is an important milestone for these two development projects, which now are each one step closer to supporting the world's energy security and environmental goals.
"Advancing new infrastructure investments is critical to supporting the energy needs of America's allies, and we are grateful for the leadership of the Biden Administration, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and various Congressional stakeholders—including Sens. Joe Manchin, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. These export projects are expected to support efforts across the Indo-Pacific region to diversify energy supplies while transitioning away from coal in power production," said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. "They are also expected to help strengthen U.S. trading relationships, as well as create new jobs and boost the U.S. and Mexico economies."
Under the permits granted by DOE, Vista Pacifico LNG is authorized to re-export up to 200 billion cubic feet per year (Bcf/yr) of LNG from U.S.-sourced natural gas from the project under development in Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico to any country with which the United States does not have an FTA requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas. Vista Pacifico LNG is projected to be a mid-scale facility with approximately 3.5 million tons per annum (Mtpa) of export capacity. Sempra Infrastructure is advancing the development of Vista Pacifico LNG in collaboration with Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), as previously announced.
The DOE also increased the authorized export volumes of ECA LNG Phase 2, permitting it to re-export up to 636 Bcf/yr of LNG from U.S.-sourced natural gas from the proposed project in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to non-FTA nations. Both permits are applicable for the period beginning on the date of first commercial re-export through December 2050.
The proposed ECA LNG Phase 2 is expected to be comprised of two trains and one LNG storage tank and produce approximately 12 Mtpa of export capacity. ECA LNG Phase 1 received non-FTA export authorization in 2019 and is currently under construction with commercial operations expected in 2025.
Development of ECA LNG Phase 2 and Vista Pacifico LNG is contingent upon completing the required commercial agreements, securing all necessary permits, obtaining financing, and reaching a final investment decision, among other factors.
About Sempra Infrastructure
Sempra Infrastructure delivers energy for a better world. Through the combined strength of its assets in North America, the company is dedicated to enabling the delivery of cleaner energy for its customers. With a continued focus on sustainability, innovation, world-class safety, championing people, resilient operations and social responsibility, its more than 2,000 employees develop, build and operate clean power, energy networks and LNG and net-zero solutions that are expected to play a crucial role in the energy systems of the future. For more information about Sempra Infrastructure, please visit www.SempraInfrastructure.com and Twitter.
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Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include risks and uncertainties relating to: decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits or other authorizations, and other actions by (i) the U.S. Department of Energy, Comisión Reguladora de Energía, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other governmental and regulatory bodies and (ii) the U.S., Mexico and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein and in other countries in which we do business; the success of business development efforts, construction projects and acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (i) being able to make a final investment decision, (ii) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (iii) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, and (iv) obtaining the consent or approval of partners or other third parties, including governmental and regulatory bodies; civil and criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations, arbitrations, property disputes and other proceedings; changes to laws and regulations, including certain of Mexico's laws and rules that impact energy supplier permitting, energy contract rates, the electricity industry generally and the import, export, transport and storage of hydrocarbons; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, by ransomware attacks on our systems or the systems of third-parties with which we conduct business, including to the energy grid or other energy infrastructure, all of which have become more pronounced due to recent geopolitical events, such as the war in Ukraine; failure of foreign governments, state-owned entities and our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; our ability to borrow money on favorable terms or otherwise and meet our debt service obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook and (ii) rising interest rates and inflation; the impact on our ability to pass through any higher costs to current and future customers due to volatility in inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices and our ability to effectively hedge these risks; the impact of energy and climate policies, laws, rules and disclosures, as well as related goals and actions of companies in our industry, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas and the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets; the pace of the development and adoption of new technologies in the energy sector, including those designed to support governmental and private party energy and climate goals, and our ability to efficiently incorporate them into our business; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, acts of terrorism, information system outages or other events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may be disputed or not covered by insurers or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on capital projects, regulatory approvals and the execution of our operations; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs, revisions to international trade agreements and sanctions, such as those that have been imposed and that may be imposed in the future in connection with the war in Ukraine, which may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, impact our ability to do business with certain counterparties, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.
Sempra Infrastructure is not the same company as San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and neither Sempra Infrastructure nor any of its subsidiaries is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
