Sempra Energy is building its wholly owned Cameron LNG terminal on the Calcasieu Channel in southwestern Louisiana. The facility, located 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in Hackberry, La., will feature three 160,000-cubic meter full-containment storage tanks and two ship berths.

The regasified LNG offloaded at the terminal will be shipped 36 miles via pipeline to a major pipeline junction that provides access to 65 percent of U.S. gas markets. Sempra Pipelines & Storage will build this vital link. Initially, the LNG terminal will be capable of sending out 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d); that capacity will be expanded to 2.65 Bcf/d.

Sempra gained final approval for Cameron LNG from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in October 2003. In December 2004 the company signed the engineering, construction and procurement contract for the project with Aker Kvaerner / IHI. Aker Kvaerner / IHI began construction the following August. That same month, Sempra LNG signed a 20-year capacity agreement with ENI S.p.A. for 40 percent (approximately 600 million cubic feet per day) of the capacity of the Cameron LNG receipt terminal. and began construction in August 2005.

Commercial operations began in July 2009.

Expansion

In January 2007, Sempra gained approval from FERC for a proposal to expand the receipt terminal to 2.65 Bcf/d send-out capacity. The primary upgrades include: widening and enlarging the LNG ship unloading slip; adding a 1,700-foot-diameter, 45-foot-deep turning basin integrated into the slip; moving the eastern edge of the slip (and berthed LNG ship) an extra 90 feet away from the edge of the channel, increasing the total offset to 250 feet; and expanding the berthing capacity to accommodate LNG carriers up to 200,000 cubic meters per day.