Sempra’s ECA LNG export project starts pre-commissioning activities

Sedgwick said during Sempra’s first-quarter earnings call on Friday that at ECA LNG Phase 1, “we have over 5,200 workers on site and construction is currently focused on pipe testing, electrical activities, instrumentation, and insulation.”

She said the project is around 92 percent complete.

“Additionally, we’re excited to share that Phase 1 has achieved mechanical completion of various subsystems, which allows for the start of pre-commissioning activities,” Sedwick said.

She said these developments “are consistent with the expectation of commercial operations in spring of 2026.”

“Moreover, I would note that at ECA LNG Phase 1, our EPC contractor has completed its engineering and procurement activities, so we’re not anticipating any significant impacts from increases in material costs,” Sedgwick said.

Sempra Infrastructure, a unit of Sempra, and France’s TotalEnergies are adding natural gas liquefaction capabilities to the existing ECA LNG regasification terminal, located north of Ensenada in Mexico’s 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.

In August 2024, Sempra Infrastructure announced that its ECA LNG export project 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.