This story requires a subscription
This includes a single user license.
Sempra said on Monday that the stake sale, along with the sale of certain energy infrastructure assets, is part of a move to advance its ongoing commitment to simplify the company’s portfolio and recycle capital in support of strong growth in its Texas and California utilities.
The sales transactions are expected to be completed over the next 12-18 months, according to Sempra.
“These transactions are subject to reaching agreement on acceptable pricing and other terms, securing required regulatory and other approvals, finalizing definitive contracts and other factors and considerations,” it said.
Costa Azul
Sempra has a 70 percent stake in Sempra Infrastructure.
The proposed minority stake sale follows Sempra’s previous divestiture of a 20 percent non-controlling interest in 2021 to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for an implied equity value of about $16.9 billion.
That transaction was followed by a second sale of a non-controlling interest of 10 percent in 2022 to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for an implied equity value of about $17.9 billion.
“Since that time, Sempra Infrastructure has continued to increase its market value through the expansion of its LNG franchise, which enjoys geographic advantages on both the Pacific and Gulf Coasts of North America,” the company said.
For instance, Energía Costa Azul LNG Phase 1 continues to target the start of commercial operations in spring of 2026, Sempra said.
In August 2024, the firm announced that its Energia Costa Azul LNG export project in Mexico had experienced labor and productivity challenges.
Sempra said at the time that mechanical completion and first LNG are expected to occur in 2025, with timing of commercial operations under the sales and purchase agreements targeted for spring 2026.
Sempra Infrastructure and France’s TotalEnergies are adding natural gas liquefaction capabilities to the existing ECA LNG regasification terminal, located north of Ensenada in Baja California.
The partners took FID on the development back in 2020, and ECA LNG Phase 1 includes a single-train liquefaction facility with a nameplate capacity of 3.25 Mtpa of LNG.
Also, TotalEnergies and Mitsui & Co will offtake a combined 2.5 mtpa of LNG from the facility under 20-year deals.
Port Arthur LNG
Besides ECA LNG, Sempra said that construction at Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 “remains on time and on budget” with Trains 1 and 2 expected to come online in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Moreover, the company continues to advance development of Port Arthur LNG Phase 2, which is “receiving strong commercial interest.”
“Sempra Infrastructure is under active commercial discussions with world-class companies for participation in the Phase 2 development project, which is anchored by a non-binding heads of agreement for LNG offtake and a proposed equity investment with a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, as well as a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction contract with Bechtel Energy,” the firm said.
The company is targeting a final investment decision in 2025, pending the execution of definitive commercial agreements, obtaining permits and securing financing, among other factors, it said.
Bechtel is already building the first phase of the Port Arthur LNG export terminal with a capacity of some 13 mtpa under an EPC deal worth about $10.5 billion.
The development of the proposed second phase would increase the total liquefaction capacity of the facility to about 26 mtpa.
“At Sempra Infrastructure, we are pursuing a series of exciting LNG growth opportunities that are expected to further America’s position as a global leader in LNG exports,” said Justin Bird, chief executive officer of Sempra Infrastructure.
“By focusing on the critical need for new energy infrastructure in North America, our company’s pipeline of development projects is expected to provide benefits to a broader base of customers and differentiated growth for decades to come,” Bird said.