LNG

Sempra Infrastructure, through its subsidiary IEnova, has received a six-month regulatory extension to begin exports of US-sourced LNG from the Phase 1 of its Energía Costa Azul LNG project in Baja California, Mexico. An order, signed by US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, extends the deadline to September 21, 2026.

Sempra Infrastructure, the US company controlling Sempra LNG and its Cameron export plant at Hackberry in Louisiana and related assets in Mexico, has sold a 10 percent stake to the Abu Dhabi wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates.

Sept 28 (LNGJ) - Sempra Energy, owner of the Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana and the Costa Azul project in Mexico, has received all third-party approvals and satisfied all material closing conditions of the agreement to sell a 20 percent non-controlling interest in Sempra Infrastructure to US investment fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, now known as just KKR, for $3.37 billion in cash.

   The last move was the de-listing from the Mexican stock exchange of subsidiary, Infraestructura Energética Nova (IEnova), the owner of the Costa Azul venture and pipeline and energy assets in Mexico. The new Sempra North American LNG and gas platform called Sempra Infrastructure Partners will group the San Diego, California-based company’s subsidiaries currently held by Sempra LNG and the IEnova unit.

Sempra Energy has completed its final move in making Mexican subsidiary Infraestructura Energética Nova (IEnova) a private company by buying up all its publicly-held shares and clearing the way for the creation of the new Sempra North American LNG and gas platform.

Sempra Energy, the owner of the US Cameron LNG export plant in Louisiana, the Port Arthur venture in Texas and the Costa Azul liquefaction project in Mexico, has signed an preliminary accord to supply Poland with 2 million tonnes per annum of cargoes.

Sempra’s LNG unit has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) for the cargoes from its portfolio projects in North America.

“We look forward to continuing to work with PGNiG to help meet their energy objectives from our strategically positioned LNG facilities and development projects on the Gulf and Pacific Coasts of North America,” said Justin Bird, Chief Executive of Sempra LNG.

Paweł Majewski, CEO of PGNiG, said his company valued its relationship with Sempra LNG and was keen to continue developing these ties.

“The MOU allows for shifting the volumes originally contracted at Port Arthur LNG to other facilities from Sempra's projects portfolio,” explained Majewski.

Sempra, based in San Diego, California, is also developing additional LNG facilities and carbon sequestration infrastructure along the value chain on the Gulf and Pacific Coasts.

Sempra explained that the Polish accord was non-binding and was completed in connection with the termination of a previous sale and purchase agreement (SPA) signed between the parties in 2018 that provided for 2 MPTA of LNG shipments to be delivered from the Port Arthur plant.

Sempra LNG owns a 50.2 percent interest in Cameron LNG, a three-Train export facility operating in Hackberry in Louisiana.

Sempra is currently considering the scale of a proposed expansion of the plant through one additional liquefaction Train with an offtake capacity of over 6 MTPA.

Sempra LNG along with its Mexican subsidiary, IEnova, and French major TotalEnergies are transforming the existing import terminal at Costa Azul in the state of Baja California into an export plant.

The first phase is already under construction and first production of LNG is expected by the end of 2024.

Sempra added that a potential Costa Azul expansion project was in the early stages of development.

July 16 (LNGJ) - BP Gas Marketing is scheduled to deliver an LNG cargo on July 16 with purchased carbon offsets to the Sempra Energy-controlled terminal at Costa Azul on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. The facility is currently undergoing work to be transformed into an export plant. “Sempra LNG continues to build a strong business portfolio focused on sustainability and the global energy transition,” said Justin Bird, Chief Executive of Sempra LNG.

Feb 19 (LNGJ) – IEnova, the Sempra Energy Mexican subsidiary and developer of the Costa Azul export plant, posted gross earnings for the year of more than US$1 billion. However, net profits for 2020 were lower at $461M million compared with $468M in 2019.

   IEnova said earnings benefited from the start of operations of the South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline bringing natural gas supplies from the US, partially offset by the revenue deferment at the Guayma-El Oro natural gas pipeline and lower operational results at the Termoeléctrica de Mexicali power plant. The Costa Azul LNG project on the Pacific Coast was given the go-ahead in late 2020 and is being constructed by Europe-based engineering firm Technip Energies. 

The US Department of Energy said the Epcilon LNG export project in the Mexican state of Sonora has been authorized to import pipeline natural gas to Mexico and re-export it as LNG to nations without a Free Trade Agreement with the US.

Sempra Energy said it would exchange the publicly-held stake in its Mexican subsidiary and LNG plant developer IEnova for Sempra Energy shares and form a new North American infrastructure company grouping Cameron LNG in Louisiana, Costa Azul on Mexico’s Pacific Coast and the Port Arthur LNG project in Texas as well as other assets including natural gas pipelines.

Sempra currently owns 66.43 percent of IEnova, whose full name is Infraestructura Energética Nova, and is making a tender offer for the outstanding shares listed on the Mexican stock exchange, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) to be swapped for Sempra Energy shares.

The transaction for IEnova shares in Mexico is for the 29.83 percent, which were sold in an initial public offering in March 2013.

The IEnova IPO had been for 218 million shares which at the time raised the equivalent in pesos of $567 million.

The new Mexican share deal is necessary to clear the way for the pooling of Sempra’s LNG and natural gas and renewable assets into one company to be called Sempra Infrastructure Partners.

The San Diego, California-based company added that it would also sell a non-controlling interest in the Sempra Infrastructure Partners unit to help fund growth.

Sempra said it expected all transactions to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

“The LNG portfolio consists of approximately 45 million tonnes per annum of LNG export capacity in development, construction or operation on the North American Pacific and Gulf Coasts,” said Sempra, in reference to Costa Azul, Cameron and the Port Arthur project.

With the IEnova shares of Mexican investors being exchanged for shares in Sempra, the US parent company Sempra Energy would be listed on the Mexican exchange in place of IEnova.

“We are excited about the announcement. In large measure, it is because we believe Sempra Infrastructure Partners is well positioned to be a leader in the global energy transition,” said Jeffrey W. Martin, Chairman and Chief Executive of Sempra Energy.

“By focusing on the critical need for new energy infrastructure right here in North America, both Sempra LNG and IEnova have created a significant pipeline of development projects that are expected to provide differentiated growth for decades to come,” added Martin.

“More importantly, this will provide an improved platform for innovation and potential new investments in renewables, hydrogen, energy storage and carbon sequestration," he added.

Martin said he was “especially excited” to be listing Sempra Energy shares on the BMV.

“Many of Mexico's most successful companies are listed there, and our plans to list our shares locally is a positive affirmation of our commitment to Mexico and desire to continue investing in the country and improving economic prosperity,” Martin explained.

“As part of Sempra Energy's family of companies, IEnova has delivered critical energy infrastructure to the country of Mexico for over two decades, supporting economic growth and the health and wellbeing of millions,” he stated.

In its stock-for-stock offer Sempra tendered for all the outstanding shares of IEnova at an exchange ratio of 0.0313 shares of Sempra Energy common stock for each ordinary share of IEnova.

Sempra Energy presented a non-binding offer to IEnova consisting of a fixed exchange ratio implying a price of 82 Mexican pesos ($4.10) per IEnova ordinary share, representing premiums of 11.6 percent and 22.6 percent over IEnova's 30-day and 90-day volume-weighted average stock prices.

To facilitate the exchange of the two sets of shares, Sempra Energy also filed a preliminary prospectus and exchange offer documents with the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission and the BMV.

Nov 20 (LNG) - Infraestructura Energética Nova (IEnova), the Mexican subsidiary of US LNG exporter and utility Sempra Energy, said it received confirmation that its customer Gazprom Marketing and Trading has joined as a plaintiff in the arbitration proceedings initiated by Royal Dutch Shell’s Mexican subsidiary, Shell México Gas Natural, against the Costa Azul LNG terminal relating to previous agreements made before plans were moved forward to turn the import terminal into an export plant.

   IEnova received a request for arbitration from Shell México derived from a storage services contract between Costa Azul and Shell, whereby it claimed that a 2019 update to the terms and conditions related to the storage services provided at the facility resulted in a cause of “force majeure” and a breach of contract. “Costa Azul Regas considers that Shell and Gazprom's claims are unfounded and inadmissible and will enforce their rights in the corresponding arbitration process, seeking to dismiss the claims of the counterparties,” it said.