Energia Costa Azul has shipped the first LNG cargo from Phase 1, bringing Mexico’s first Pacific coast export terminal into operation and tripling the country’s liquefaction capacity, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The July 8 shipment marks the start of exports from the single-train facility, which adds 0.4bn cubic feet per day of nominal capacity.
Energia Costa Azul is only the second LNG export terminal on North America’s Pacific coast after LNG Canada. Its commissioning lifts the region’s combined export capacity to 2.2 Bcf/d and gives cargoes a shorter route to Asian import markets.
The terminal is supplied with US natural gas, placing its exports under US Department of Energy approvals. The agency has authorised 0.50 Bcf/d of LNG exports to countries with a free trade agreement with the US and 0.44 Bcf/d to non-FTA markets.
A proposed second phase would add a further 1.6 Bcf/d of nominal export capacity through two large-scale liquefaction trains.
Sempra is the developer of Energia Costa Azul and has proposed the project’s second phase.