Sempra plunges to loss on impairment

San Diego-based energy company and LNG operator Sempra Energy’s earnings for the second quarter have been heavily impacted by a $900 million impairments.

The company reported a loss of $561 million, compared to a $259 profit reported in the corresponding quarter.

The impairments included was related to the planned sale of certain U.S. midstream assets and a $145 million after-tax impairment related to the planned sale of U.S. wind investments.

Excluding the impairment charges, Sempra said its earnings were at $361 million, with the company’s CEO Jeffrey Martin saying the company’s balance sheet has been strengthened.

“We also have taken significant steps to begin optimizing our portfolio of assets and expand our liquefied natural gas (LNG) business,” Martin said.

Sempra said it’s unit Sempra LNG & Midstream advanced development of its Port Arthur LNG and Energía Costa Azul natural gas liquefaction-export projects.

In June, Port Arthur LNG entered into a preliminary 20-year agreement for the sale of 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of natural gas to the Polish national oil company, beginning in 2023, subject to reaching a definitive agreement.

Later on June, Sempra LNG & Midstream selected Bechtel as the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC) contractor for the Port Arthur liquefaction project under development in Texas and a partnership of TechnipFMC and Kiewit as the EPC contractor for the Energía Costa Azul liquefaction project under development in Mexico.