SAN DIEGO, July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) today announced that Cameron LNG has received authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to export an additional 1.41 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day (Bcfd) from its proposed Louisiana liquefaction expansion project to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the U.S. With this order, Cameron LNG's export capacity will be 24.92 million tons per annum or 3.53 Bcfd.

Earlier this year, Cameron LNG received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to site, construct and operate the proposed expansion project, which will include up to two additional liquefaction trains (trains No. 4 and No. 5) and one additional full containment LNG storage tank (tank No. 5). The expansion project will be located next to the Cameron LNG terminal and liquefaction facilities that were approved for construction in 2014 in Hackberry, La.

"Receiving DOE's authorization is an important step forward for the Cameron LNG expansion project," said Octavio M.C. Simoes, president of Sempra LNG & Midstream.  "We appreciate the support and leadership of the community and our federal, state and local officials for their commitment to this project that will provide incremental benefits to the economy, while meeting market demand for new LNG supplies."

Construction on the first phase of the $10 billion Cameron LNG liquefaction project (trains No. 1-3) currently is underway.  The facility is expected to commence operations during 2018, with the first full year of operations in 2019.

The proposed expansion project is subject to completing the required commercial agreements, securing all necessary consents and approvals, obtaining financing and reaching a final investment decision, among other things.

Cameron LNG Holdings, LLC is a joint venture owned by affiliates of Sempra Energy, ENGIE, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Japan LNG Investment, LLC, a joint venture formed by affiliates of Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, and comprises the Cameron LNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) receipt terminal in Hackberry, La., and the construction and operation of the liquefaction export facilities.

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2015 revenues of more than $10 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 17,000 employees serve more than 32 million consumers worldwide.

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 Administration, 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; the resolution of civil and criminal litigation and regulatory investigations; 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 and related assets and our investments 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; 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 (due to liquidity issues, bankruptcy or otherwise) 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, fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance or may be disputed by insurers; 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 International, LLC, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, and Sempra Partners, LP, 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, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, and Sempra Partners, LP, 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.