Sempra pushes back commissioning of Mexico’s Energia Costa Azul LNG

Sempra LNG developer Sempra is extending the commissioning of Phase 1 of the Energia Costa Azul project in Ensenada, Mexico, Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the company, announced on July 27.

The extension of the commissioning phase stems from the discovery of damage to the project’s refrigerant compressors, noticed during an inspection following the export of the Mexican project’s first LNG cargo.

Now, a root cause investigation will be carried out and the project is projected to achieve substantial completion in the fourth quarter. Delivery of cargoes sold under long-term sales and purchase agreements (SPA) is expected to begin shortly after.

The announcement means that the commissioning phase is expected to be completed about one year after the project achieved mechanical completion in December 2025. Feed gas was introduced into the plant in April 2026.

In July, French supermajor TotalEnergies shipped the facility’s first LNG cargo, after producing first LNG a month earlier. The project was required to commence exporting cargoes by September 21, as part of the terms under its licence agreement with the US Department of Energy.

Energia Costa Azul’s Phase One will boast a production capacity of 3.25 mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. The facility is set to benefit heavily from its ideal location on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the state of Baja California, which will provide direct and fact access to energy-hungry countries in Asia.

Houston-headquartered Sempra Infrastructure has partnered with TotalEnergies on the project. The French company’s share is a 17% stake, which includes a long-term offtake deal for 1.7mn tpy of LNG. Japan’s Mitsui also has a deal that gives it access to 800,000 tpy.

If Sempra gives the green light to Phase Two of the project, the facility would add 12 mn more tpy of production capacity.