SAN DIEGO, Jan. 9, 2008 – Responding to the growing need for accessible oil and petroleum storage and infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf Coast, Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) has proposed the construction of a marine petroleum terminal and storage facility in Port Arthur, Texas. The company has initiated an open-season solicitation for potential customers interested in purchasing terminal capacity.
The initial phase of the proposed Port Arthur Marine Terminal would provide storage and transportation assistance in the import and export of crude oil, liquid petroleum gas and related products. The terminal would serve the Gulf Coast region’s refineries, pipelines and storage facilities.
“The storage and transportation services provided by this project complement Sempra Energy’s other energy infrastructure-development efforts,” said Neal E. Schmale, president and chief operating officer for Sempra Energy. “The proposed project matches our existing natural gas infrastructure siting and development expertise with the needs of petroleum producers and marketers in the region.”
Large ships carrying petroleum and other related products to the region’s refineries are limited by long, inner-waterway voyages that are restricted to daylight hours. The proposed Sempra Energy terminal would allow for 24-hour marine terminal access with an initial, first-phase throughput of up to 500,000 barrels a day.
Non-binding indications of interest in capacity or a partnership in the proposed terminal will be accepted from Jan. 9 to Feb. 15 and should be directed to Marvin Ivey, commercial development director, Sempra Energy, 2500 Citywest Blvd., Suite 1800, Houston, Texas, 77042, or by calling (713) 361-7659, or emailing MIvey@SempraGlobal.com. Additional information on the marine terminal open season is available at: www.sempra.com/pamt. If sufficient indications of interest are received, the company will seek to finalize commercial agreements in late 2008. Permitting efforts for the project are underway and construction could begin in 2009. The terminal and storage facility, which would be located at the southern intersection of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Sabine-Neches Waterway, is expected to take two years to build.
The project’s first phase, involving the construction of storage tanks and multi-ship berthing facilities, would require about 120 acres of the 2,900 acres Sempra Energy owns near Port Arthur. The Sempra Energy property also is the proposed site of a larger energy complex that includes the planned development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, Port Arthur LNG. That project, which will be capable of storing and regasifying up to 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, will begin construction upon obtaining sufficient LNG supply and capacity agreements.
Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2006 revenues of nearly $12 billion. The Sempra Energy companies’ 14,000 employees serve more than 29 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. When the company uses words like “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “may,” “would,” ”could,” “should,” or similar expressions, or when the company discusses its strategy or plans, the company is making forward-looking statements. 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 by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, California Department of Water Resources, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Reserve Board, U.K. Financial Services Authority and other environmental and regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries; capital market conditions, inflation rates, interest rates and exchange rates; energy and trading markets, including the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices; the availability of natural gas and liquefied natural gas; weather conditions and conservation efforts; war and terrorist attacks; business, regulatory, environmental, and legal decisions and requirements; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the timing and success of business development efforts; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are available through the EDGAR system without charge at its Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company’s Web site, www.sempra.com.
Sempra LNG and Sempra Pipelines & Storage and Sempra Generation are not the same companies as the utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.