PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Phase 1 for construction of the new Sempra Port Arthur LNG facility began Friday.
Crews have been prepping the site for the past year and now an official start date for construction is being given.
Sempra announced July 2022 that its subsidiary, Sempra Infrastructure, and ConocoPhillips have entered into a new agreement to develop the Port Arthur LNG (PALNG) project.
Sempra got the funding to go ahead with the $7 billion Port Arthur LNG Project in March 2023.
12News reported as work progressed on the facility being built to export LNG. But the project hit a snag late in the year when an appeals court ruled in favor of an environmental justice group.
Because of this new partnership, Port Arthur will become a key player in the liquified natural gas industry, which is a hot commodity right now due to U.S. exports being shipped on tankers to Europe.
This week, the first bulk of steel material needed for construction arrived on site. Officials gathered today to celebrate the coming together of the LNG Project.
The Port Arthur LNG Facility will focus on natural gas liquefication.
"This project consists of a natural gas liquefication facility that will take US Natural gas that is produced in the country and set across the globe to appease the demand," said LNG PA General Manager William Gurrola.
The work completed during the past year helped to prep the site and lay down the building blocks for the structures that will be built.
The construction site currently has over 1,500 constructions workers and thousands of workers and contractors will be coming through the doors.
"We are gonna have over 5,000 people at its head point, but it's more than that, it's probably about 10,000 people coming through the doors for 55 percent," said Bechtel President of Global Energy Paul Marsden. "We want to get that number as high up as possible."
During phase one of construction, the company wants to hire local and bring on skilled young workers.
"We are focusing on things like education and workforce preparedness, environmental stewardship, and we have amazing programs like working with Lamar state college," said Gurrola.
The Biden Administration issued a temporary ban on LNG exports. Company officials assured Southeast Texas that this will not affect phase one. LNG previously secured the permits needed.
"We are building projects that reduce the carbon footprint and the carbon intensity of our projects," said Gurrola. "That is something you will hear a lot more about in the future."
The construction of the facility is expected to last another three and a half years.
Officials say that the community should notice more pronounced structures by next year.
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