Every time I read articles about LA LNG facilities or about major O&G companies leasing hundreds of thousands of acres and funding drilling programs in central La or companies spending billions of dollars to buy out Haynesville Shale operators, I think that's great...but then I think, don't those companies know that no one wants to make an investment in Louisiana because of all those awful lawsuits?  98% of the propaganda we read about companies shying away from LA because of the "legal atmosphere" is not based on facts.  Might be 100% but I'll leave some wiggle room for specific, marginal investments.  The major companies have no qualms about investing in Louisiana.  And if the state had more proven unconventional plays like the Haynesville, we would have activity on a similar scale to Texas. 

Total partners with Sempra on Cameron LNG expansion and more

By Jordan Blum   Updated 10:47 am CST, Monday, November 5, 2018

French energy major Total said Monday it plans to partner with San Diego-based Sempra Energy for the expansion of the Cameron LNG project in Louisiana near the Texas border.

Total, which already is a partner on the first phase of the Cameron liquefied natural gas export project, said it wants to invest in the expansion that could begin as soon as 2020, as well as another LNG export project on the west coast of Mexico in Baja California.

The long-delayed $10 billion Cameron LNG project is expected to begin coming online next year with the first two LNG units. The third LNG facility in the first phase will start up in late 2019 or early 2020. The project is expected to churn out 14 million tons of LNG a year.

Total said it is ready to partner with Sempra on a second phase that would build two more LNG units, called trains, for another 9 million tons of LNG.

Total also says it will partner with Sempra on the Energia Costa Azul LNG project in Mexico as well as both an investor and buyer of the LNG.

"This relationship with Sempra Energy will support our goal of building a diverse portfolio of LNG supply options that offers our customers flexibility, reliability and low-cost North American natural gas," Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said, noting that the Mexico project would have an even easier logistics advantage for shipping LNG to Asia.

Total is a new partner to Sempra. Total acquired a 16.6 percent stake in Cameron LNG early this year when it bought the LNG assets of France's Engie.

The sale made Total the world's second-largest player in LNG market share after its Anglo-Dutch competitor Royal Dutch Shell.

Sempra said it eventually wants to build 45 million tons of LNG export capacity in North America, including a project in Port Arthur, so Total would have future investment opportunities as well.