Sempra Energy said on April 4 its LNG unit has entered into an agreement with affiliates of TotalEnergies, Mitsui & Co. and Japan LNG Investment LLC to increase the capacity of its Cameron LNG Phase 2 export project in Hackberry, Louisiana.

U.S. LNG exporters are stepping up their production capacities as Europe looks for alternative energy sources following sanctions on Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The Biden administration said last month it will supply 15 Bcm of LNG to the EU this year.

San Diego-based energy company Sempra said the Heads of Agreement, a preliminary non-binding arrangement, provides a commercial framework to expand the Cameron facility by adding a fourth LNG train.

The proposed Phase 2 project is expected to include a single LNG train with a maximum production capacity of 6.75 million tonnes per annum and removal of bottlenecks for the existing three LNG trains.

Japan LNG Investment is jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.