U.S. Grants Export Permission for Phase II of Sempra's Port Arthur LNG Project

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Late last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it had given permission for Phase II of Sempra Energy's (San Diego, California) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Port Arthur, Texas, to export LNG to countries without a free trade agreement with the U.S. While the administration has given conditional approval for such exports to a handful of U.S. LNG projects in development, the Port Arthur approval marks the first final approval granted under U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and paves the way for Sempra to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project.

Phase II of the project will add two production trains to the two that are now under construction at the facility. Each train is expected to process 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for export, resulting in about 6.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) of exported LNG each, or a combined 13 MTPA for the two new trains and an aggregate 26 MTPA for all four production units at the plant. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) previously approved construction of Phase II in 2023.

Construction of Phase I, or trains 1 and 2, kicked off in 2023. Train 1 is expected to begin exports in 2027 followed by Train 2 in 2028. Construction is being overseen by Bechtel (Reston, Virginia), which also was awarded the construction contract for Phase II in July 2024. In a May conference call, Sempra executives said they expect to make an FID on the project by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

The timelines for construction of trains 3 and 4 is somewhat tentative without an FID, but Industrial Info estimates that each train will take about four years to construct, meaning if Sempra begins production of Train 3 next year, the unit could likely begin operations in 2030.

In a press release regarding the approval, Energy Secretary Wright said, "Port Arthur LNG Phase II marks a significant expansion of the first phase already under construction--turning more of the liquid gold beneath our feet into energy security for the American people." The project is one of several given a green light by the Trump Administration to achieve U.S. "energy dominance."

But Sempra also has another LNG project under construction--this one in Baja California, Mexico, although it will source gas from the U.S., primarily from the Gasoducto Rosarito pipeline, on which an expansion was completed in 2023. Train 1 is expected to produce 3 MTPA of LNG and initially was expected to begin production this year, but labor challenges pushed the startup date to the spring of 2026. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report. A potential expansion could double the plant's capacity.

The company may not be done there with furthering U.S. LNG exports. FERC previously granted permission for an expansion of Sempra's LNG facility in Cameron, Louisiana, by one 6.75-MTPA train. Sempra has stated it will make an FID on the project this year, although the company has indicated no recent movement in this direction. Sempra has an offtake agreement with Poland's PGNiG (Warsaw) for 2 million tons of LNG per year from the train. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).