Sapphire Gas Solutions said Tuesday it had acquired a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility in Ehrenberg, Arizona, part of its efforts to establish a leading vertically integrated merchant LNG platform in the United States.
Desert Gas LNG, bought from Spectrum LNG, produces up to about 76,000 gallons per day of LNG and has an LNG storage capacity of around 100,000 gallons, according to a press release by Conroe, Texas-based Sapphire. The plant is located near the California-Arizona border.
“The acquisition expands upon the natural gas services Sapphire offers its clients in the Southwest U.S. and Southern California by adding LNG production capabilities”, Sapphire said.
The previous owner had raised LNG deliveries by over 15 percent annually since 2011, “reflecting continued growth in regional demand for small-scale LNG”, Sapphire said. “The facility receives feed and fuel natural gas from TC Energy’s North Baja pipeline and supplies LNG to municipal, commercial and industrial customers throughout the region”.
“The Desert Gas facility further advances our vertically integrated model allowing Sapphire to provide customers with a more complete and unified service”, said Sapphire chief executive Sam Thigpen.
“We see significant opportunity to build on Spectrum’s existing relationships and expand LNG solutions for municipalities, industrial customers and other users looking for dependable alternatives to traditional energy infrastructure”, Thigpen added.
“Vertical integration allows Sapphire to control the molecule from production through transportation to the end customer”.
The acquisition also includes additional infrastructure for potential expansion in Stroud, Oklahoma, Sapphire said.
Spectrum LNG CEO Ray Latchem said, “This transaction comes at a strategic time for Spectrum as we expand our footprint in Alaska”.
Earlier Sapphire acquired EDGE LNG from Blue Water Energy, adding approximately 200,000 gallons of daily gas liquefaction capacity through modular equipment deployed in the Southern U.S.
“EDGE’s modular, skid-mounted plant design enables rapid deployment and scalable production to meet changing customer requirements, providing customers with flexible LNG solutions in locations where traditional natural gas infrastructure may not be readily available”, Sapphire said August 27.
The acquisitions are part of Antin Infrastructure Partners’ investment in Sapphire. Earlier in 2026 French private equity firm Antin acquired Sapphire from Apollo.
“Sapphire benefits from significant tailwinds within the U.S. energy sector as C&I and data center load growth outpace existing infrastructure capacity and create a fundamental need for resilient, on-site energy solutions”, Antin said in an online statement April 2. “Sapphire’s CNG and LNG solutions represent an economically attractive alternative and allow customers to reduce carbon emissions, especially when supplied as RNG.
“With Antin’s support, Sapphire is well-positioned to capitalize on these favorable energy reliability and sustainability trends”.
“The transaction represents the eighth investment by Antin’s EUR 10.2 billion [nearly $12 billion] Flagship Fund V, a value-add fund that grows established infrastructure companies across Europe and North America in the energy and environment, digital, transport and social sectors”, Antin added.
source: rigzone.com