Summary: Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG export project
has finally received a green signal from regulators. The company could start
exporting LNG as soon as 2018. The company could post solid earnings growth
over the next several years, and it won’t come just from LNG exports.
Slowly but
surely, the United States is moving towards exporting liquefied natural gas as
the country eyes a greater share of the global LNG trade. The federal
government has recently approved Sempra Energy's Cameron LNG export facility.
So far, the government has approved LNG exports of up to 4.5 billion cubic feet
per day by giving licenses to two major projects.
"Major
Regulatory Hurdle"
On Wednesday,
Sempra Energy's proposed Cameron LNG project finally received the green signal
from the Department of Energy, allowing the company to export 1.7 billion cubic
feet of gas daily to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the
U.S. The company has been targeting customers in Asia and Europe. Until now,
Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass project was the only facility to receive these
approvals.
The Energy
Department has recently overhauled the procedure required to obtain a gas
export license. Under the new rules, energy companies are now required to
obtain Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval before filing an
application with the energy department. Sempra Energy, however, was one of the
few companies that already had a construction license from FERC.
