SAN DIEGO, Feb. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today announced that its Sempra LNG & Midstream unit has entered into a Project Development Agreement with a subsidiary of Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (Woodside) (ASX: WPL, OTC: WOPEY) to further advance the development of the proposed Port Arthur LNG natural gas liquefaction facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

The new agreement expands on the Memorandum of Understanding previously signed by the parties in June 2015 and provides a framework regarding how Sempra LNG & Midstream and Woodside will contribute their experience and share the costs related to the development, technical design, permitting and commercial development of the liquefaction project.

"This agreement continues to build on our experience developing safe, reliable energy infrastructure in North America and on Woodside's core strengths in construction and operation of LNG assets," said Octavio M.C. Simoes, president of Sempra LNG & Midstream. "We are confident that, together, we can develop a facility that will meet the highest standards of LNG supply for the global market."

The proposed Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project, located at a site previously permitted for an LNG regasification terminal along the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel, initially would be designed to include two natural gas liquefaction trains with a total export capability of approximately 10 million metric tons per annum (Mtpa), or 517 billion cubic feet per year, as well as LNG storage tanks and marine facilities for LNG ship berthing and loading.  Additionally, a 3-mile portion of Highway 87 between the Intracoastal Waterway and Keith Lake Pass would be relocated and upgraded to accommodate the construction of a marine terminal berth for docking and loading of LNG ships.

Last year, Port Arthur LNG obtained approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to export up to 10 Mtpa of domestically produced LNG to all current and future Free Trade Agreement countries; the authorization to export LNG to countries with which the U.S. does not have a Free Trade Agreement is pending review by the DOE. In March 2015, Port Arthur LNG initiated the pre-filing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is anticipated to be completed later this year.

Any development of the project remains contingent upon completing required commercial agreements; acquiring all necessary permits and approvals; securing financing commitments and potential 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," "assumes," "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, legal and regulatory conditions, decisions and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including general rate case decisions, new regulations, issuances of permits to construct, operate, and maintain facilities and equipment and to use land, franchise agreements and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Commission, California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Mexican Competition Commission, cities and counties, 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; deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers, and delays in regulatory agency authorization to recover costs in rates from customers; 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, moratoriums on the ability to withdraw natural gas from or inject natural gas into storage facilities, pipeline explosions and equipment failures; energy markets; the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices; 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; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which we do not have a controlling interest, and risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments, and inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; 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 and employees; terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure; wars; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, equipment failures and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, cause the release of greenhouse gasses, radioactive materials and harmful emissions, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries, some of which may not be covered by insurance; disallowance of regulatory assets associated with, or decommissioning costs of, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station facility due to increased regulatory oversight, including motions to modify settlements; 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 and increased reliance on natural gas and natural gas transmission systems; 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; 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 LNG & Midstream and Port Arthur LNG, LLC are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra LNG & Midstream and Port Arthur LNG, LLC  are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

SOURCE Sempra Energy