DHAHRAN,
Saudi Arabia, June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aramco, one of the world's
leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Sempra
(NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE), one of North
America's leading energy infrastructure companies, today
announce that their respective subsidiaries have executed a
non-binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) for a 20-year sale and
purchase agreement (SPA) for liquefied natural gas (LNG) offtake of
5.0 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) from the Port Arthur LNG Phase
2 expansion project. The HoA further contemplates Aramco's 25%
participation in the project-level equity of Phase 2.
The parties expect to execute a binding LNG SPA
and definitive equity agreements with terms substantially
equivalent to those in the HoA, with the SPA and equity agreements
subject to a number of conditions.
Nasir K.
Al-Naimi, Aramco Upstream President, said: "We are
excited to take this next step into the LNG sector. As a potential
strategic partner in the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project, Aramco is
well placed to grow its gas portfolio with the aim of meeting the
world's growing need for lower-carbon sources of energy. This
agreement is a major step in Aramco's strategy to become a leading
global LNG player."
Jeffrey W.
Martin, Sempra Chairman and CEO, said: "The planned
expansion of Port Arthur LNG would help facilitate the broad
distribution of U.S. natural gas across global energy markets. By
expanding the global reach of the Port Arthur LNG facility, we have
the opportunity to improve energy security, while providing a
lower-carbon alternative to coal for electricity production."
Port Arthur LNG is a natural gas liquefaction and
export terminal in Southeast Texas
with direct access to the Gulf of
Mexico. The Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project is currently
under construction and consists of trains 1 and 2, as well as two
LNG storage tanks and associated facilities. The Port Arthur LNG
Phase 2 project is a competitively positioned expansion of the site
to include the addition of up to two trains capable of producing up
to 13 Mtpa.
At the heart of Sempra Infrastructure's flagship
Port Arthur Energy Hub, Port Arthur LNG has potential to expand to
a total of eight trains, which would position it as one of the
world's most significant LNG export facilities. The facility is
expected to play an important role in enhancing global energy
security and resilience. Moreover, Sempra Infrastructure is
actively advancing infrastructure projects within the Port Arthur
Energy Hub, addressing both the rising demand for lower-carbon
fuels and carbon intensity reduction. This includes the proposed
Titan Carbon Sequestration project.
About Aramco
As one of the world's leading integrated energy
and chemicals companies, our global team is dedicated to creating
impact in all that we do, from providing crucial oil supplies to
developing new energy technologies. We focus on making our
resources more dependable, more sustainable and more useful,
helping to promote growth and productivity around the world.
www.aramco.com
About Sempra
Sempra is a leading North American energy
infrastructure company focused on delivering energy to nearly 40
million consumers. As owner of one of the largest energy networks
on the continent, Sempra is electrifying and improving the energy
resilience of some of the world's most significant economic
markets, including California,
Texas, Mexico and global energy markets. The company
is recognized as a leader in sustainable business practices and for
its high-performance culture focused on safety and operational
excellence, as demonstrated by Sempra's inclusion in the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index North America and in The Wall Street Journal's
Best Managed Companies. More information about Sempra is available
at sempra.com and on social media @Sempra.
Aramco Forward-Looking Information
The press release contains forward-looking
statements. All statements other than statements relating to
historical or current facts included in the press release are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give the
Company's current expectations and projections relating to its
capital expenditures and investments, major projects, upstream and
downstream performance, including relative to peers. These
statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded
by, followed by or including words such as "target," "believe,"
"expect," "aim," "intend," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan,"
"project," "can have," "likely," "should," "could," and other words
and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Company's
control that could cause the Company's actual results, performance
or achievements to be materially different from the expected
results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including the following factors: global
supply, demand and price fluctuations of oil, gas and
petrochemicals; global economic conditions; competition in the
industries in which Saudi Aramco operates; climate change concerns,
weather conditions and related impacts on the global demand for
hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon-based products; risks related to Saudi
Aramco's ability to successfully meet its ESG targets, including
its failure to fully meet its GHG emissions reduction targets by
2050; conditions affecting the transportation of products;
operational risk and hazards common in the oil and gas, refining
and petrochemicals industries; the cyclical nature of the oil and
gas, refining and petrochemicals industries; political and social
instability and unrest and actual or potential armed conflicts in
the MENA region and other areas; natural disasters and public
health pandemics or epidemics; the management of Saudi Aramco's
growth; the management of the Company's subsidiaries, joint
operations, joint ventures, associates and entities in which it
holds a minority interest; Saudi Aramco's exposure to inflation,
interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk; risks related to
operating in a regulated industry and changes to oil, gas,
environmental or other regulations that impact the industries in
which Saudi Aramco operates; legal proceedings, international trade
matters, and other disputes or agreements; and other risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, as set forth in
the Company's latest periodic reports filed with the Saudi Stock
Exchange. For additional information on the potential risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the
results predicted please see the Company's latest periodic reports
filed with the Saudi Stock Exchange. Such forward-looking
statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the
Company's present and future business strategies and the
environment in which it will operate in the future. The information
contained in the press release, including but not limited to
forward-looking statements, applies only as of the date of this
press release and is not intended to give any assurances as to
future results. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to the press
release, including any financial data or forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, unless required by applicable law or regulation. No
person should construe the press release as financial, tax or
investment advice. Undue reliance should not be placed on the
forward-looking statements.
Sempra Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains statements that
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. Future
results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in
any forward-looking statement. 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 otherwise.
In this press release, forward-looking statements
can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend,"
"anticipate," "contemplate," "plan," "estimate," "project,"
"forecast," "envision," "should," "could," "would," "will,"
"confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in
process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "preliminary,"
"initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised,"
"maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim,"
"commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance,
priorities, strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities,
projections, intentions or expectations.
Factors, among others, that could cause actual
results and events to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in any forward-looking statement include: California wildfires, including potential
liability for damages regardless of fault and any inability to
recover all or a substantial portion of costs from insurance, the
wildfire fund established by California Assembly Bill 1054, rates
from customers or a combination thereof; decisions, investigations,
inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits,
consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of
franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor
contracts and commitments, by the (i) California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), Comisión Reguladora de Energía, U.S. Department
of Energy, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public
Utility Commission of Texas, U.S.
Internal Revenue Service and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S.,
Mexico and states, counties,
cities and other jurisdictions therein and in other countries where
we do business; the success of business development efforts,
construction projects, acquisitions, divestitures, and other
significant transactions, including risks related to (i) being able
to make a final investment decision, (ii) completing construction
projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (iii)
realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if
completed, (iv) obtaining third-party consents and approvals, and
(v) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments;
macroeconomic trends or other factors that could change our capital
expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other
growth; litigation, arbitrations, property disputes and other
proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations, including those
related to tax and trade policy and the energy industry in
Mexico; cybersecurity threats,
including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware or
other attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with
which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other
energy infrastructure; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and
cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money or
otherwise raise capital on favorable terms and meet our
obligations, including due to (i) actions by credit rating agencies
to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative
outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, or (iii) rising
interest rates and inflation; the impact on affordability of San
Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E) and Southern
California Gas Company's (SoCalGas) customer rates and their cost
of capital and on SDG&E's, SoCalGas' and Sempra
Infrastructure's ability to pass through higher costs to customers
due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates and commodity
prices, (ii) with respect to SDG&E's and SoCalGas' businesses,
the cost of meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy
in California, and (iii) with
respect to Sempra Infrastructure's business, volatility in foreign
currency exchange rates; the impact of climate and sustainability
policies, laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and trends,
including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas,
increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment
for California natural gas
distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded
assets, and uncertainty related to relevant emerging and
early-stage technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics,
accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information
system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, that
disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the
release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability
for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be
recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may
impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable
insurance; the availability of electric power, natural gas and
natural gas storage capacity, including disruptions caused by
failures in the transmission grid, pipeline system or limitations
on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; Oncor
Electric Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability to reduce or
eliminate its quarterly dividends due to regulatory and governance
requirements and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's
independent directors or a minority member director; and other
uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond
our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further
discussed in the reports that Sempra 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 Sempra's website, www.sempra.com.
Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking
statements.
Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure
Partners, Sempra Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and
Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IEnova) are not
the same companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas,
and Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners, Sempra
Texas, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated
by the CPUC.
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