Sempra Infrastructure and TotalEnergies Ship First LNG Cargo From ECA Phase 1, Opening Pacific Export Route for Permian Basin Gas

Sempra Infrastructure and TotalEnergies shipped the inaugural liquefied natural gas cargo from the Energia Costa Azul (ECA) Phase 1 facility on July 9, 2026, per a TotalEnergies press release issued the same day. The cargo departed from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, bound for Asian markets. ECA Phase 1 is the first LNG export terminal built on the Pacific Coast of North America.

Project Structure: Sempra Operates, TotalEnergies Holds 16.6% and 20-Year Offtake

The facility is a single-train liquefaction plant with a nameplate capacity of 3.25 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). Sempra Infrastructure, the LNG operating arm of Sempra (NYSE: SRE), serves as project operator. TotalEnergies holds a 16.6% equity stake and has signed a 20-year offtake agreement covering 1.7 Mtpa of the facility's output. The agreement makes TotalEnergies the sole offtaker during ECA Phase 1's commercial ramp-up period.

Pacific Route Cuts Asia Voyage Time by Up to 11 Days

ECA's location on Mexico's Pacific Coast gives LNG carriers direct westward access to Asian import terminals. Tankers departing Ensenada reach Northeast Asian ports in approximately 12 to 14 days. Gulf Coast LNG vessels, by contrast, transit the Panama Canal and face a voyage of 22 to 25 days to Japan or South Korea. The shorter route reduces shipping costs and improves cargo scheduling flexibility for Asian buyers.

The feed gas supply chain runs east to west: pipeline gas sourced from the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico flows south into Baja California. Henry Hub natural gas settled at $2.94 per MMBtu on Friday, July 11, per CME data. Platts assessed the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM), the Asian LNG spot benchmark, at $16.58 per MMBtu as of approximately July 8 to 9, noting a three-day reporting lag. That gives a gross spread of $13.64 per MMBtu between the two prices.

What the $13.64 Spread Is Worth at 1.7 Mtpa

ECA LNG does not expose shippers directly to the Henry Hub-to-JKM spread: buyers pay a liquefaction tolling fee and bear their own shipping costs on top of the gas purchase price. Industry-standard estimates put liquefaction tolling at approximately $2.50 per MMBtu and Pacific Ocean freight from Baja California to Northeast Asia at approximately $1.75 per MMBtu. The all-in cost to land ECA gas in Japan or South Korea is therefore approximately $7.19 per MMBtu at current Henry Hub prices. Against a JKM of $16.58, that leaves a net spread of roughly $9.39 per MMBtu before port fees and local taxes.

TotalEnergies' contracted 1.7 Mtpa converts to roughly 86 million MMBtu per year, using the standard 50.7 MMBtu per LNG tonne. At a $9.39 net spread, the French major's offtake volume carries a gross marketing contribution of approximately $808 million per year before operating costs. A $1 change in either Henry Hub or JKM shifts that annual figure by roughly $86 million.

Asian Supply Context: Why a Hormuz-Free Route Matters Now

JKM reached $16.58 per MMBtu in early July after QatarEnergy briefly halted its Ras Laffan ramp-up following an Iranian strike on the Al Rekayyat carrier. Qatar has since resumed operations, but Hormuz shipping risk remains elevated. ADNOC Logistics and Services responded by ordering four new LNG carriers in the same period, as covered in an earlier Oil Authority report. ECA Phase 1's Pacific route bypasses the Strait of Hormuz entirely, giving Asian buyers a diversified supply path with no transit exposure to the strait.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said in the July 9 press release: "The start-up of ECA LNG, whose strategic location provides access to Asian markets, strengthens our integrated LNG portfolio in North America." Sempra Infrastructure CEO Justin Bird called the first cargo an achievement that underscores "the exceptional talent of the entire ECA LNG Phase 1 team and our company's commitment to safe project execution." Permian Basin producers gain a direct monetization path to Asian spot markets, an improvement over Waha Hub prices that have historically traded at steep discounts to Henry Hub due to regional pipeline constraints.

Phase 2 in Development at the Same Ensenada Site

Sempra Infrastructure is advancing a larger Phase 2 expansion at the same Baja California site. Capacity and partner details for Phase 2 have not been disclosed by the company. Sempra also operates Port Arthur LNG, a Gulf Coast export project in Texas, giving the company LNG export capacity on both sides of North America. ECA Phase 2, if sanctioned, would extend Mexico's Pacific LNG footprint and deepen the Permian-to-Asia supply corridor.