A subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy announced last Wednesday it completed the purchase of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Hackberry, LA, from Dynegy, agreeing to pay $20 million initially and additional contingent payments based on the performance of the project, which is estimated to cost $700 million.

The deal was completed by Sempra Energy LNG Corp., a newly created unit of Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, the developer of Sempra’s LNG projects.

Changing the name of the project to “Cameron LNG” to reflect the name of the Louisiana parish in which the terminal site is located, Sempra has obtained a project that has preliminary approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and envisions processing 1.5 Bcf/d of LNG, starting in 2007.

On a similar time frame, Sempra also has a proposal before Mexican federal energy authorities for approval to construct and operate a 1 Bcf/d LNG receiving terminal, Energia Costa Azul, along the Pacific Coast of North Baja California a few miles north of Ensenada. Its first shipments are expected in late 2006.

“This project acquisition (in Louisiana) is part of our corporate strategy to expand our presence in the LNG market and help fill the expected gap in North American natural gas supplies in the future,” said Donald Felsinger, group president, Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, noting that the original transaction with Dynegy was announced Feb. 18, including the 119-acre site along the Calcasieu River.

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