Petrobras signed 20 years with Sempra, then bought the same gas from Cheniere
Petrobras signed 20 years into Port Arthur LNG Phase 2, then bought the same volume from Cheniere for 22. Aramco returned on a single Saudi wire, and the KKR stake sale meant to fund Sempra's build ended its guided quarter still pending.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
The buyer who signed twice
On 14 September 2026, Sempra Infrastructure announced a 20-year agreement to supply Petrobras about 0.8 million tonnes of LNG a year from Port Arthur Phase 2, and chief executive Justin Bird welcomed "the first South American company in our LNG customer portfolio" 1. Sixteen days later, Petrobras bought the identical volume from Cheniere, 0.8 million tonnes a year for 22 years, free on board 23. Petrobras said the contracting "reflects Petrobras' strategy to reduce exposure to the volatility of the LNG spot market" 2. Cheniere sells from a platform of roughly 56 million tonnes already in operation 3.
The stack against the steel
Phase 2 is not paper. It reached final investment decision in September 2025, Bechtel holds a full notice to proceed, and trains 3 and 4 are due online in 2030 and 2031, adding about 13 million tonnes a year and nearly doubling Port Arthur 16. Named buyers now cover 8.3 of them: ConocoPhillips at 4, EQT at 2, JERA at 1.5, Petrobras at 0.8 4.
Four named buyers have claimed 8.3 Mtpa of Port Arthur Phase 2's ~13 Mtpa
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| ConocoPhillips | 4 Mtpa |
| EQT | 2 Mtpa |
| JERA | 1.5 Mtpa |
| Petrobras | 0.8 Mtpa |
Then Aramco. A 1 October dispatch on the Saudi state wire announced a deal covering equity, royalties and LNG purchases from Port Arthur, disclosing no volume and no price, and no follow-up with terms had surfaced by 4 October 5. It revives a June 2025 memorandum for 5 million tonnes and a possible 25 percent stake; Aramco was absent from the backers Sempra named at the 4 September 2025 investment decision 4.
The quarter the money missed
At sanction, Phase 2 carried estimated incremental capex of about $12 billion, plus $2 billion of shared facilities 6. The balancing item is equity: Sempra agreed in September 2025 to sell 45 percent of Sempra Infrastructure Partners to KKR affiliates, and on 6 August still guided the close to the third quarter of 2026 7. That quarter ended on 30 September with the sale pending and no closing announced 67. SRE closed at $78.38 on 2 October, $2.17 above its 52-week low, on a $51.3 billion market cap 9.
Sempra's side of the ledger
Execution is not the problem. Second-quarter adjusted EPS rose 30 percent to $1.16, guidance was affirmed, and the five-year capital plan stands near $65 billion 79. Buyers have their own motive: JKM Asian spot traded at $25.70 per MMBtu on 3 October against a $3.01 Henry Hub front month, a spread above eight times that turns Henry Hub-linked tolling into insurance 8. What none of the three announcements discloses is a price.
A close and two disclosures decide it
Three wires decide this: whether Aramco's one-line deal grows disclosed terms, whether the KKR sale closes, and what Sempra files next. The gas is sold; the check is late.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
