Sempra’s 70%-owned subsidiary Sempra Infrastructure has also closed the project’s US$6.8Bn debt financing arrangement
Sempra Infrastructure has reached a positive final investment decision (FID) for the development, construction and operation of the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project in Jefferson County, Texas in the US.
A statement from Sempra said Sempra Infrastructure closed its joint venture with an affiliate of ConocoPhillips as well as announced an agreement to sell a non-controlling interest in the project to an infrastructure fund managed by investment firm KKR.
Sempra Infrastructure announced the closing of the project’s US$6.8Bn non-recourse debt financing and the issuance of the final notice to proceed under the project’s engineering, procurement and construction agreement.
“At Sempra, we believe bold, forward-looking partnerships will be central to solving the world’s energy security and decarbonisation challenges,” said Sempra chairman and CEO Jeffrey W. Martin
The Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project is fully permitted and is designed to include two natural gas liquefaction trains, two liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks and associated facilities with a nameplate capacity of approximately 13 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). Total capital expenditures for the Port Arthur Phase 1 project are estimated at US$13Bn.
The long-term contractable capacity of approximately 10.5 Mtpa is fully subscribed under long-term agreements with counterparties including ConocoPhillips, RWE Supply and Trading, INEOS and Engie, according to Sempra.
Sempra Infrastructure is also actively marketing and developing the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project, which is expected to have similar offtake capacity to Phase 1.
Venture Global LNG has recently taken an FID and successfully closed US$7.8Bn in project financing for the second phase of the Plaquemines LNG facility. Together, phase one and phase two represent approximately US$21Bn of investment, the largest project financing ever done.
The proceeds of the debt and equity financing fully fund the balance of construction and commissioning of the second phase of the 20 mtpa nameplate capacity project. The company also issued a full notice to proceed to KZJV [the joint venture building the facility] to continue construction on phase two of Plaquemines LNG," a Venture Global release said.
The investment decision came less than 10 months after the FID on phase one, according to Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel, and the lending came from rougly two dozen of the world’s largest banks.
In June 2022, Venture global announced its LNG export project had secured the initial US$13.2Bn in funding.
Disclosed in May, the deal for the 13.33 mta American LNG export facility is the largest ever project financing raised in a single phase for a US liquefaction scheme, according to Poten & Partners.
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