Following the closing of the deal, Sempra Infrastructure holds a controlling 28% indirect interest in Phase 1 of the proposed natural gas liquefaction and export terminal in southeast Texas
Rendering of the Port Arthur LNG project in Texas. (Credit: Sempra)
Sempra Infrastructure has finalised the previously announced deal to sell a 42% stake in the $13bn Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project in Texas to KKR.
The financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
Following the closing of the deal, Sempra Infrastructure has reduced its stake to 28% in Phase 1 of the proposed natural gas liquefaction and export terminal in southeast Texas.
Sempra Infrastructure CEO Justin Bird said: “The closing of this transaction continues the positive momentum of our world-class Port Arthur LNG facility and highlights Sempra Infrastructure’s ability to access capital to support the growth of its infrastructure business.
“We remain committed to developing energy infrastructure projects with strong partners to continue growing our portfolio while advancing global decarbonisation and energy security.”
The remaining 30% stake in the Phase 1 project is held by ConocoPhillips, which acquired it from the Sempra subsidiary in 2022.
Sempra Infrastructure took a positive final investment decision (FID) for Phase 1 of the Port Arthur LNG project in March 2023. The company had announced the deal with KKR at that time.
Bechtel Energy was awarded a contract for the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.
According to Sempra Infrastructure, more than 2.8 million hours of work have been executed since the start of construction this spring, without any incidents resulting in loss of time.
Located in Jefferson County, Texas, the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project will have two natural gas liquefaction trains, two LNG storage tanks, and related facilities. It is designed to have a nameplate capacity of nearly 13 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).
Train 1 is anticipated to commence commercial operations in 2027, while Train 2 is expected to come online in 2028.
KKR partner James Cunningham said: “We are pleased to close our investment in this critical energy infrastructure project led by the Sempra Infrastructure team.
“Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 has continued its strong momentum and is on track to meet its objectives of helping to deliver energy security, economic growth and a near-term supply of reliable and cleaner energy.”
The second phase of the project is also intended to have two liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 13.5Mtpa.