Update On Sempra Activity in Mexico -- May 5, 2022

I'm blown away by all the natural gas, all the LNG stories, right now. 

There's probably a handful of non-Bakken energy companies I really enjoy following. It's a long, long story. Earlier today, I posted a short note on that company, Sempra. 

A reader happened to catch that and sent me this note:

With all the news flying about, it can be daunting to try and keep track.

Just to be clear, the proposed LNG plant that you referred to today - Vista Pacifico at Topolobampo -  is their second project. The Energia Costa Azul is under construction and should be online in about 24 months. 

There is a third Mexican west coast project at Puerto Libertad that should receive FID shortly.

All the gas will be US sourced, mainly Permian and possibly Piceance.

The distance from West Texas to these plants is about the same as to the Gulf coast and pipes, storage and berths are already in place as they were originally designed to be import terminals.

A little sleuthing led me to this, from naturalgasintel.com, published just one month ago, April 4, 2022. Archived.

Two liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects planned for Mexico’s Pacific Coast have reached significant milestones in recent days.

The projects comprise Sempra Infrastructure’s Vista Pacífico LNG terminal planned for Topolobampo, Sinaloa, and Mexico Pacific Ltd.’s (MPL) liquefaction project envisioned for Puerto Libertad, Sonora.

Sempra Infrastructure and TotalEnergies SE are expanding their “strategic alliance” in North American energy with two agreements, one involving LNG exports and the other for offshore wind.

In the memoranda of understanding (MOU) announced Thursday, the San Diego-based unit of Sempra and the French major TotalEnergies outlined partnerships that intertwine their interests in gas exports and renewables in Mexico and California.

In one MOU, TotalEnergies is considering contracting about one-third of the capacity from a proposed LNG site in Mexico. Vista Pacífico LNG would be sited near Sempra’s refined products terminal in Topolobampo, Sinaloa. If the project is sanctioned, TotalEnergies could obtain around 1.3 million metric tons/year (mmty) of the terminal’s planned 4 mmty capacity. The energy major could also take a minority equity stake in the project, as it has with other projects.

The map: