TotalEnergies SE said Thursday it had dispatched the maiden cargo from its joint liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with Sempra Infrastructure in Ensenada, Mexico to Asia.
Houston, Texas-based operator Sempra Infrastructure, part of utility holding company Sempra, announced the start of production last month but said the facility would take a few months to start commercial operations.
ECA LNG Phase 1 remains in the commissioning phase, TotalEnergies said in a statement Tuesday. “TotalEnergies will be the sole offtaker of LNG during the ramp-up phase”, the French energy giant said.
Sempra said separately on Wednesday, “Once the facility begins commercial operations, ECA LNG Phase 1 will be the first LNG liquefaction facility on Mexico’s Pacific Coast”.
TotalEnergies and Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd have secured a combined 2.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of LNG for 20 years from phase 1, which has a nameplate capacity of 3.25 MMtpa from a single train, according to Sempra.
“TotalEnergies, which holds a 16.6 percent stake in the project alongside operator Sempra Infrastructure, will offtake 1.7 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years from the start of commercial operations”, TotalEnergies said Thursday.
It said phase 1 processes United States gas produced in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico.
“A second larger phase is also under development at the same site”, TotalEnergies added.
“Thanks to its strategic location on Mexico’s west coast, ECA LNG enables U.S. natural gas to be exported to Asia and other Pacific Basin markets via the shortest maritime route, reducing transportation times and costs.
“The project is expected to reach substantial completion in the summer 2026, with long-term LNG sales agreements taking effect shortly thereafter as the facility enters commercial operations”.
Sempra Infrastructure chief executive Justin Bird said, “At a time of increased uncertainty in the global LNG trade, we are excited to begin shipping a new and reliable source of natural gas from North America’s Pacific Coast to customers around the globe”.
Phase 1 obtained its export authorization from the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2019. The DOE granted phase 1 a permit to export gas to Mexico and other countries with which Washington has a free trade agreement (FTA), and another authorization to re-export U.S.-sourced gas in liquefied form from the Mexican facility to nations that do not have an FTA with the U.S.
Phase 2 is also permitted to re-export U.S.-sourced gas from Mexico to non-FTA countries, as announced by Sempra Infrastructure December 22, 2022.
“The proposed ECA LNG Phase 2 is expected to be comprised of two trains and one LNG storage tank and produce approximately 12 Mtpa [million metric tons per annum] of export capacity”, it said at the time.