US energy company Sempra has canceled the development of Vista Pacifico, a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Mexico.
In its annual report filed with the SEC at the end of February, Sempra said that in December it “agreed to terminate the existing development agreement.”
Vista Pacifico was a partnership between Sempra Infrastructure Partners, a subsidiary of Sempra, and Mexico’s state-owned utility CFE.
In its annual report, Sempra said the project was canceled because of unspecified changes in the priorities of both partners.
Sempra is selling control of Sempra Infrastructure Partners to a consortium led by private equity firm KKR.
Sempra had not reached a long-term gas supply arrangement for the project with CFE. The Mexican utility is prioritizing the development of new gas-fired power plants.
Proposed for the port of Topolobampo in Sinaloa state, Vista Pacifico was a mid-scale facility that planned to liquefy US-sourced natural gas and export up to 200 billion cubic feet per year of LNG mainly to Asian markets. Before being canceled, the start of exports was planned for 2029.
French oil and gas major TotalEnergies had a non-binding agreement to buy about one-third of production and potentially participate as a minority partner in the project.
In the state of Baja California, TotalEnergies has a 16.6% stake in the first phase of Energía Costa Azul, an LNG project developed by Sempra that will start commercial operations in the summer of 2026.
Sale
Sempra’s annual report also discloses that the buyer of Ecogas, Sempra’s natural gas distributor in northern Mexico, is Gas Natural del Noroeste. A subsidiary of Mexican conglomerate Grupo Simsa, Gas Natural del Noroeste is paying US$500mn for the business.
(The original version of this content was written in English)