Sempra, the US utility, has given the go-ahead to a second phase of its Port Arthur LNG terminal located in Texas, the company confirmed on September 23, 2025.
It is well to be noted that the second phase of the liquefied natural gas project is going to include a couple of new liquefaction trains, which are capable of producing 13 million tonnes per annum, in addition to one new LNG storage tank, said Sempra when revealing the final investment decision (FID).
Sempra, which happens to be San Diego-based, has estimated that the price tag for phase two is going to be $14 billion, which includes a $2 billion payment to go ahead and acquire shared common facilities with the first phase of the project.
The company anticipates that the two trains should reach the commercial operations by 2030 and 2031, respectively.
Notably, the financing for phase two came from Blackstone Credit & Insurance in addition to an investor consortium that includes the likes of KKR, Goldman Sachs, and Apollo.
These investors also bought a 49.9% interest when it comes to the two new liquefaction trains for $7 billion, Sempra confirmed. However, Sempra is still the majority owner, having a 50.1% stake.
Interestingly, Bechtel is going to be the engineering and procurement as well as the construction contractor for both phases of Port Arthur LNG.
It is worth noting that the long-term customers for phase two happen to be ConocoPhillips, JERA, and EQT.
The announcement made by Sempra follows the FIDs taken in early 2025 by Woodside at the Louisiana LNG and also NextDecade for its fourth train at the Rio Grande LNG.
Apart from the FID, Sempra also announced that it has sold a 45% interest in Sempra Infrastructure Partners, which happens to be the subsidiary that holds Port Arthur LNG, for $10 billion to the affiliates of KKR in addition to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board – CPP Investments.
Due to this deal, which is anticipated to close by the third quarter of 2026, KKR will become the majority owner of Sempra Infrastructure Partners, having a 65% stake. Sempra is going to hold 25%, whereas the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority – ADIA is always going to retain the 10% interest.
More opportunities for offtake deals
Notably, Sempra’s stock grew 4% to almost $86 per share in early trading on September 23, 2025.
In a call with analysts so as to discuss the moves, the executive of Sempra, Jeffrey Martin, said the FID should open up more opportunities when it comes to long-term contracts as far as phase two is concerned.
Sempra Infrastructure Partners’ chief executive, Justin Bird, told the analysts that they continue to be actively engaged along with several of their counterparties, and this announcement is yet another tool in their toolbox as they discuss with those counterparties how they go ahead and sell those remaining volumes.
When asked about if Sempra could pursue more farm-downs at the Port Arthur LNG, Jeffrey Martin remarked that the company was quite set on capital structure when it came to phase two.