SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra LNG, a unit of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), today announced it has executed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an affiliate of Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (Woodside) (ASX: WPL, OTC: WOPEY) to commence discussions and assessments for the potential development of Sempra LNG's proposed Port Arthur liquefaction project in Port Arthur, Texas.

"Sempra Energy and Woodside bring together an extraordinary complementary set of experience and skills from two world-class organizations," said E. Scott Chrisman, vice president of commercial & development for Sempra LNG. "We look forward to engaging Woodside in discussions regarding the proposed Port Arthur liquefaction project."

Woodside has a track record of more than 30 years of experience in the development and safe and reliable operations in the LNG industry with the North West Shelf and Pluto projects in Australia. Sempra LNG, as lead sponsor of the Cameron liquefaction project in Louisiana and currently in construction, has demonstrated its ability to develop high-value, low-cost liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in North America.

The non-binding MOU is the initial step for Sempra LNG and Woodside to explore this opportunity and undertake due diligence for the potential development of the Port Arthur liquefaction project. Any decision to proceed with a binding agreement between Woodside and Sempra LNG in relation to the potential development of the project, including the establishment of any joint venture or partnership between Sempra LNG and Woodside, is contingent upon completing project assessments and achieving other necessary internal and external approvals for each party.

The proposed Port Arthur liquefaction project would be located at a site previously permitted for an LNG regasification terminal and would be designed to include two natural gas liquefaction trains with a total export capability of approximately 10 million metric tons per annum, or 1.4 billion cubic feet per day, as well as LNG storage tanks and marine facilities for LNG ship berthing and loading.

In March 2015, Sempra LNG's affiliate, Port Arthur LNG, LLC, initiated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pre-filing review for the proposed natural gas liquefaction facility and filed its permit application with the U.S. Department of Energy for authorization to export LNG produced from the proposed project to all current and future Free Trade Agreement countries.

Any development of the project remains contingent upon completing required commercial agreements; acquiring all necessary permits and approvals; securing financing commitments and potential tax incentives; achieving other customary conditions; and making a final investment decision to proceed.

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2014 revenues of $11 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers worldwide.

Woodside is an Australian oil and gas company with a global presence, recognized for its world-class capabilities, as an explorer, a developer, a producer and a supplier. Woodside is Australia's most experienced LNG operator and largest independent oil and gas company.

This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates,"  "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "possible,"  "proposed,"  "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance.  They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including issuances of permits to construct and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the impact of any protracted reduction in oil prices from historical averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to recover such costs in rates from customers; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments; inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on our California Utilities' cost of capital; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures and the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS); cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers, terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure, and wars; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which we do not have a controlling interest; risks inherent with nuclear power facilities and radioactive materials storage, including the catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the nuclear facility due to an extended outage and facility closure, and increased regulatory oversight; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable energy sources; the impact on competitive customer rates of the growth in distributed and local power generation and the corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.  These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on the company's website at www.sempra.com.

Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra International, LLC, and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.

SOURCE Sempra LNG