Sempra's Cameron Interstate Pipeline Locks In Steady Revenue on LNG Backbone
Cameron Interstate Pipeline held rates flat and construction quiet in 2024, leaning instead on a $410 million backlog of fixed-fee contracts tied to Sempra's Cameron LNG export venture.
Sempra (SRE) kept its Louisiana gas-pipeline unit on a steady footing in 2024, filing no FERC rate case and reporting no tariff changes at Cameron Interstate Pipeline, LLC (LA), which continues to operate under negotiated-rate firm transportation service agreements (FTSAs) rather than a cost-of-service proceeding.
That stability reflects the structure of the business. Cameron Interstate Pipeline, an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Infrastructure Partners, LP, runs a 36.5-mile, 42-inch interstate line in southern Louisiana connecting seven pipelines to the Cameron LNG joint venture’s Hackberry liquefaction facilities. Cameron LNG JV, the pipeline’s primary customer counterparty, is itself 50.2% owned by a CIP affiliate, binding the pipeline’s revenue to Sempra’s LNG export strategy.
System investment was minimal for the year. The pipeline is certificated for 2.35 billion cubic feet per day of capacity following a 2017 bidirectional expansion—3.58 miles of 36-inch pipe and a new compressor station—that lets gas flow toward Cameron LNG’s liquefaction trains. Construction-work-in-progress balances fell to zero in 2024, with no new capital projects reported.
Throughput centers on a single dedicated service: Cameron Interstate Pipeline delivers 1.5 Bcf/d of firm transportation capacity to Cameron LNG JV under bidirectional flow arrangements, consuming roughly two-thirds of its certificated capacity.
Revenue held essentially flat at $28.8 million in 2024, up marginally from $28.6 million in 2023, all of it reservation-charge transportation revenue collected under 20-year FTSAs. Three counterparties—Total Gas & Power and affiliates of Mitsui’s MC Global Gas—accounted for 97% of revenue and receivables, up from 96% the prior year. The pipeline disclosed $410.0 million in remaining fixed-fee performance obligations under those contracts, with about $28.0 million a year contracted through 2029 and $270.0 million booked for years beyond that, giving the company a long-dated, largely locked-in revenue base.
On the operational side, asset retirement obligations grew through accretion to $1.62 million at year-end from $1.53 million, with no impairments recorded on the pipeline’s long-lived assets in either 2024 or 2023. The company reported no outstanding legal proceedings and no operations-and-maintenance commitments as of December 31, 2024. Cameron Interstate Pipeline also participates in Sempra Infrastructure Partners’ centralized cash-management program, holding a note receivable from SI Partners—capped at $250 million—that rose to $65.0 million from $49.7 million, carrying a variable rate of 5.01%. Governance turnover included the removal of Secretary Jennifer A. DeMarco effective April 12, 2024, replaced by Bradley H. Oliphant, alongside changes in the Chief Compliance/Risk Officer role; no franchise or M&A activity was reported for the year.
With no rate case pending and capacity commitments extending past 2029, Cameron Interstate Pipeline’s near-term path runs through its existing FTSA backlog rather than new regulatory filings, keeping its fortunes tethered to utilization at Cameron LNG’s export terminal.