November 5, 2018 [S&P Global Platts] - Sempra Energy is expected to begin flowing feedgas to its Cameron LNG export terminal in Louisiana before the end of the year, with first production to follow sometime after, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The San Diego-based power and gas provider will join Cheniere Energy and Dominion Energy as a US exporter of LNG produced from shale gas when it ships its first cargo, which is expected to occur in early 2019.
The activity comes as the US is poised to become a major player in the global LNG market, providing spot and contract cargoes to high-demand countries in Asia and Europe and greater optionality for traders. Besides Sempra, Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island LNG export facility in Georgia and Freeport LNG’s terminal in Texas are expected to start up in 2019. More than a dozen projects that are proposing to be part of the second wave of US liquefaction have received permit approval timelines from US regulators.
In a statement, Sempra said it has initiated the commissioning process for the support facilities and first liquefaction train at the Cameron LNG facility. The process will include testing of all support systems, combustion turbines and compressors, as well as the delivery of feedgas from the transmission pipeline.
“Once all of the steps of the commissioning process are approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and successfully completed for the first liquefaction train, LNG production will start up, and then ramp up to full production for delivery to global markets,” Sempra said.
Spokesman Paty Ortega Mitchell said in an email responding to questions that Sempra expects “all three trains to produce LNG in 2019. Train 1 production and the first cargo would be early 2019.” Sempra has made getting Cameron LNG up and running a top priority amid construction challenges that have forced delays. Other terminals currently under construction have also had delays, including the Kinder Morgan and Freeport LNG projects.
Sempra, a partner in the Cameron LNG export project with Mitsui, Mitsubishi and others, also has been considering a second export project on the West Coast, at the site of the Energia Costa Azul receipt terminal in Baja California, Mexico. It is also involved in a proposed export project in Port Arthur, Texas.
Cheniere, meanwhile, is preparing to start up its second LNG export terminal. The facility, in Corpus Christi, Texas, has been flowing feedgas for several weeks and could export its first cargo from Train 1 as early as later this month. Two more trains are under construction there.
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