SAN DIEGO, March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy
(NYSE: SRE) and Bechtel today announced that their respective
subsidiaries, Port Arthur LNG, LLC and Bechtel Oil, Gas, and
Chemicals, Inc., have signed a fixed-price engineering, procurement
and construction (EPC) contract for the Port Arthur LNG
liquefaction project under development in Port Arthur, Texas.
"Building new export infrastructure in the U.S. is critical to
providing overseas markets with cleaner fuel alternatives," said
Jeffrey W. Martin, chairman and CEO
of Sempra Energy. "Partnering with a world-class construction firm
like Bechtel bolsters our execution plan for one of the world's
largest LNG development projects."
Bechtel's Chairman and CEO Brendan
Bechtel said, "We are honored and grateful that Sempra has
chosen Bechtel as their trusted partner to help grow Sempra's LNG
business on the Gulf Coast. Together,
we will deliver an important, clean and sustainable energy source
to the world while creating jobs and building economic
opportunities for the Gulf Coast
community."
As part of the EPC contract, Bechtel Oil, Gas, and Chemicals,
Inc. will perform the detailed engineering, procurement,
construction, commissioning, startup, performance testing and
operator training activities for the project. The scope of the
agreement also includes continuing pre-final investment decision
engineering to better assure project cost and schedule
certainty.
The Port Arthur LNG development project is expected to initially
include two liquefaction trains, two liquefied natural gas (LNG)
storage tanks, a marine berth and associated loading facilities and
related infrastructure necessary to provide liquefaction services,
with a nameplate capacity of approximately 13.5 million tonnes per
annum (Mtpa) of LNG. The project site sits on nearly 3,000 acres of
land along three miles of the Sabine-Neches
waterway and has the potential to become one of the largest LNG
export projects in North America,
with expansion capabilities of up to eight liquefaction trains and
approximately 45 Mtpa of capacity.
"Port Arthur LNG plays an important role in Sempra's goal of
becoming one of North America's
largest developers of liquefaction-export infrastructure projects
and we look forward to continuing to move the project forward,"
added Martin.
In January, Sempra LNG signed an Interim Project Participation
Agreement (IPPA) with Aramco Services Company, a subsidiary of
Saudi Aramco, for the proposed Port Arthur LNG project. The IPPA
represents another milestone for both companies after signing a
heads of agreement in May 2019 for
the potential purchase of 5 Mtpa of LNG and a 25% equity investment
in the project. In December 2018,
Port Arthur LNG entered into an agreement with Polish Oil and Gas
Company for the sale and purchase of 2 Mtpa of LNG per year.
The Port Arthur LNG development project received authorization
from the U.S. Department of Energy to export domestically produced
LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the
U.S. in May 2019. Additionally, the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the approval to site,
construct and operate the liquefaction-export facility in
April 2019.
It is estimated that the proposed project will create a craft
workforce on site that peaks at about 5,000 construction jobs, as
well as several hundred additional Texas jobs in support of the project,
including material fabrication. Nearly 200 long-term jobs will be
created to operate and maintain the Port Arthur LNG facility.
Development of the Port Arthur LNG project is contingent upon
obtaining additional customer commitments, completing the required
commercial agreements, securing all necessary permits, obtaining
financing, incentives and other factors, and reaching a final
investment decision.
About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be
North America's premier energy
infrastructure company. With more than $65
billion in total assets reported in 2019, the San Diego based company is the utility holding
company with the largest U.S. customer base. The Sempra Energy
companies' more than 20,000 employees deliver energy with purpose
to over 40 million consumers worldwide. The company is focused on
the most attractive markets in North
America, including California, Texas, Mexico
and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy has been consistently
recognized for its leadership in diversity and inclusion, and
sustainability, and is a member of the S&P 500 Utilities Index
and the Dow Jones Utility Index. The company was also named one of
the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2020 by Fortune
Magazine.
About Bechtel
Bechtel is a trusted engineering,
construction and project management partner to industry and
government. Differentiated by the quality of its people and a
relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, Bechtel
aligns its capabilities to customers' objectives to create a
lasting positive impact. Since 1898, Bechtel has helped customers
complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven
continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the
resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to
energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer,
cleaner place. Bechtel serves the Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security
& Environmental; Oil, Gas & Chemicals; and Mining &
Metals markets. The company's services span from initial planning
and investment, through start-up and
operations. www.bechtel.com
Sempra Energy Forward-Looking Information
We make statements in this press release that are not historical
fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions with respect to
the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees
of performance. Future results may differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the
date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new
information, future events or other factors.
In this press release, forward-looking statements can be
identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates,"
"plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could,"
"would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential,"
"possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "outlook," "maintain,"
or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, strategy,
goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections or
intentions.
Factors, among others, that could cause our actual results
and future actions to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating
to: decisions, investigations, regulations, issuances of permits
and other authorizations, and other actions by the U.S. Department
of Energy, regulatory and governmental bodies and jurisdictions in
the U.S. and other countries in which we operate; the success of
business development efforts, construction projects and major
acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (i) the ability
to make a final investment decision and completing construction
projects on schedule and budget; (ii) obtaining the consent of
partners; (iii) counterparties' financial or other ability to
fulfill contractual commitments; (iv) the ability to complete
contemplated acquisitions and/or divestitures; and (v) the ability
to realize anticipated benefits from any of these efforts once
completed; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation,
regulatory investigations and proceedings and arbitrations; actions
by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or to
place those ratings on negative outlook and our ability to borrow
at favorable interest rates; moves to reduce or eliminate reliance
on natural gas; weather, natural disasters, accidents, equipment
failures, computer system outages and other events that disrupt our
operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of
harmful materials, cause fires and subject us to liability for
property damage or personal injuries, fines and penalties, some of
which may not be covered by insurance (including costs in excess of
applicable policy limits), may be disputed by insurers or may
impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable
insurance; cybersecurity threats to storage and pipeline
infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our
businesses, and the confidentiality of our proprietary information
and the personal information of our customers and employees;
expropriation of assets, the failure of foreign governments and
state-owned entities to honor the terms of contracts, and property
disputes; volatility in foreign currency exchange, interest and
inflation rates and commodity prices and our ability to effectively
hedge the risk of such volatility; changes in trade policies, laws
and regulations, including tariffs and revisions to or replacement
of international trade agreements, such as the North American Free
Trade Agreement, that may increase our costs or impair our
ability to resolve trade disputes; the impact of changes to federal
and state tax laws and our ability to mitigate adverse impacts; and
other uncertainties, some of which may be difficult to predict and
are beyond our control.
Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in
the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through
the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website,
www.sec.gov, and on the company's website at
www.sempra.com.
Sempra LNG and Port Arthur LNG, LLC are not the same as the
California utilities, San Diego
Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, or
Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC and are not regulated by the
California Public Utilities Commission.
Media Contact:
Paty O. Mitchell
Sempra Energy
(877) 340-8875
media@sempra.com
Twitter: @SempraLNGM
Mat Ovenden
Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals
(713) 235-3041
movenden@bechtel.com
Financial Contact:
Adam Pierce
Sempra Energy
(877) 736-7727
investor@sempra.com
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SOURCE Bechtel