Mexico’s Energia Costa Azul ships first LNG cargo to Asia
ECA LNG shipped its first cargo to Asia from Ensenada on July 8, adding 0.4 Bcf/d and tripling Mexico’s LNG export capacity.
Sempra Infrastructure on July 8 shipped the first LNG cargo from its ECA LNG Phase 1 terminal in Ensenada, adding 0.4 Bcf/d of nominal export capacity. The single-train project tripled Mexico’s LNG export capacity and lifted North American Pacific Coast export capacity to 2.2 Bcf/d. TotalEnergies moved the first cargo to Asia, underscoring the shorter Pacific route from Baja California to Asian buyers.
The project sits on the site of the original Energía Costa Azul receiving terminal, which Sempra says began operating in 2008. Sempra made a final investment decision on the export project in November 2020, and the U.S. Department of Energy lists ECA LNG in a formal docket for the large-scale project, reflecting the cross-border gas supply links that were built into the plan. Sempra had previously said the terminal would export U.S. feedgas.
The start-up came after 2024 industry coverage flagged labor-related delays before the plant moved into commissioning. S&P Global on July 13 said the single-train export terminal should produce about 3.25 million metric tons a year of LNG when fully online and expected ECA to import an LNG cargo from Indonesia in late July after the first export shipment. That two-way configuration gives the terminal an unusual level of flexibility for a North American gas asset.
ECA’s Pacific Coast location is the other commercial card. LNG Canada was the first LNG terminal in North America on the Pacific Coast; ECA is the second, and the route cuts sailing time to Asia versus Gulf Coast departures. With one export cargo now out the door and an import cargo penciled in from Indonesia, Sempra has turned a former receiving terminal into a swing asset that can move with shipping spreads and seasonal demand across the Pacific.
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