HOUSTON, Aug. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE), today announced an agreement with a consortium comprised of Tokyo Gas Company, Ltd., Osaka Gas Company, Ltd., Toho Gas Company., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation to participate in the evaluation of a proposed project to produce e-natural gas, a form of carbon recycling, in the U.S. Gulf Coast. If the project is successful, it could be the first link of an international supply chain of liquified e-natural gas, a synthetic gas produced from renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
The consortium is comprised of three of the leading gas utilities in Japan and Mitsubishi Corporation which have been conducting preliminary feasibility work on the project since 2022. With the addition of Sempra Infrastructure, the companies seek to advance the energy transition through the global market of liquified e-natural gas.
"Sempra Infrastructure is excited to bring its essential infrastructure development experience to this collaboration with Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi Corporation. The project would allow existing natural gas infrastructure, including the global liquefied natural gas supply chain and the gas distribution systems in nations across the world, to be used as the backbone for the delivery of a long-term, carbon-neutral fuel," said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. "Sempra Infrastructure has strong strategic alignment with the goals of the consortium and is well-positioned to support this innovative opportunity by building on what we do well: developing energy infrastructure that provides access to safe, secure, affordable and lower and zero-carbon energy for our global partners."
"Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and Mitsubishi Corporation intend to realize the world's first large-scale production and international supply chain of e-natural gas and have been progressing feasibility work. The U.S. Gulf Coast is an ideal location for this type of facility and we are pleased to partner with Sempra Infrastructure, a company with a reliable and qualified track-record of developing energy infrastructure in this region. We look forward to the development of this project as a truly global consortium," said Kentaro Kimoto, Representative Executive Officer of Tokyo Gas, Keiji Takemori, Senior Executive Officer of Osaka Gas, Takeo Haigo, Managing Executive Officer of Toho Gas, and Masaru Saito, Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi Corporation.
The proposed project is anticipated to produce 130,000 tonnes of e-natural gas per year that would be liquified to become liquified e-natural gas via Mitsubishi Corporation's tolling capacity at the Cameron LNG terminal in Southwest Louisiana and exported to Japan, where the product is commonly referred to as e-methane. The proposed project is anticipated to include the production or procurement of green hydrogen, as well as the construction of facilities to produce the e-natural gas.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are currently implementing a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of carbon capture, utilization and storage, conversion and recycling, and carbon dioxide removal. This proposed project would meet many of the objectives in the memorandum, and could complement it, should the policy frameworks recognize e-natural gas as a carbon-neutral fuel.
Successful development of the proposed project is contingent upon completing the required commercial agreements, securing and/or maintaining all necessary permits, obtaining financing, and reaching a final investment decision, among other factors and considerations.
About Sempra Infrastructure
Sempra Infrastructure, headquartered in Houston, is focused on delivering energy for a better world by developing, building and operating, and investing in clean power, energy networks, and LNG and net-zero solutions that are expected to play a crucial role in the energy systems of the future. Through the combined strength of its assets in North America, Sempra Infrastructure is connecting customers across the globe to modern energy infrastructure to source and transport renewables and natural gas, while advancing carbon sequestration and clean hydrogen. For more information about Sempra Infrastructure, please visit www.SempraInfrastructure.com and Twitter.
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Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include risks and uncertainties relating to: decisions, investigations, inquiries, regulations, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, and other actions by (i) the U.S. Department of Energy, Comisión Reguladora de Energía, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other governmental and regulatory bodies and (ii) the 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 and acquisitions and divestitures, including risks in (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, and (iv) obtaining the consent or approval of third parties; litigation, arbitrations, property disputes and other proceedings, and changes to laws and regulations, including those related to the energy industry in Mexico; cybersecurity threats, including by state and state-sponsored actors, of ransomware attacks on our systems or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business, including the energy grid or other energy infrastructure, all of which have become more pronounced due to recent geopolitical events; our ability to borrow money 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 or (ii) rising interest rates and inflation; failure of foreign governments, state-owned entities and our counterparties to honor their contracts and commitments; the impact on our ability to pass through higher costs to customers due to volatility in inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices; the impact of climate and sustainability policies, laws, rules, regulations, disclosures and trends, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and our ability to incorporate new technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events 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 insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of natural gas, including disruptions caused by failures in the pipeline system of limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; changes in tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs, revisions to international trade agreements and sanctions, any of which may increase our costs, reduce our competitiveness, impact our ability to do business with certain counterparties, or impair our ability to resolve trade disputes; 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 and Sempra Infrastructure Partners are not the same company as San Diego Gas & Electric Company or Southern California Gas Company, and none of Sempra Infrastructure, Sempra Infrastructure Partners nor any of its subsidiaries is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
SOURCE Sempra Infrastructure