Sempra contracts Bechtel for Port Arthur LNG project

San Diego-based energy company and LNG operator Sempra Energy has signed a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project under development in Port Arthur, Texas with Bechtel.

As part of the EPC contract, Bechtel Oil, Gas, and Chemicals will perform the detailed engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, startup, performance testing and operator training activities for the project, Sempra Energy said in its statement.

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.

In January, Sempra LNG signed an interim project participation agreement (IPPA) with Aramco Services Company, a unit 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 percent equity investment in the project.

In December 2018, Port Arthur LNG entered into an agreement with the 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.