US-based energy infrastructure company Sempra Infrastructure has signed a fixed-price engineering, procurement and construction contract with Bechtel Energy for a gas liquefaction facility in Texas.

The contract for Phase 1 of the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project in Jefferson County is valued at US$10.5bn (£9.25bn).

The Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project has planning permission and is expected to include two natural gas liquefaction trains and LNG (liquid natural gas) storage tanks, and associated facilities capable of producing up to 13.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

"The execution of the final contract is a critical step in advancing Phase 1 of Port Arthur LNG toward a final investment decision," said Justin Bird, CEO of Sempra Infrastructure. "Based on robust customer interest, we know that Port Arthur LNG is highly attractive to the global market and we look forward to providing customers with access to secure, abundant and reliable US LNG."

A similarly sized Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project is also competitively positioned and under active marketing and development.

Earlier this year, Sempra Infrastructure announced the substantial completion of marketing for Phase 1 of the proposed Port Arthur LNG project with the signing of a series of non-binding agreements with the Polish Oil & Gas Company (PGNiG), RWE Supply & Trading, INEOS Energy Trading and ConocoPhillips.

Development of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Port Arthur LNG project is contingent upon completing the required commercial agreements, securing all necessary permits, obtaining financing, and reaching an affirmative final investment decision, among other factors.