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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Ahhh Yessss......It brings back memmories:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_oil_expropriation
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bajarah
Newbie
Posts: 11
Registered: 6-28-2010
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Costa Azul LNG Receiving Terminal
Hello Everyone!
Good to be with you folks!
This is my first post on this forum. Looking forward to reading/posting on the other forums.
Interesting set of events lately concerning this facility.
I operated SDGE's twin LNG plant complex, in Chula Vista, when it existed 'way back in the early 70's
I have talked with our Mexican friends and neighbors in Ensenada over the years I am not suprised how things are going right now with
Mexico/Sempra. From what I read, Sempra should take Mexico seriously and at least respond to the court .. otherwise PEMEX might get into a new line
of business.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Good to see you here, bajarah.
Is that a real possibility with the current situation? I mean, a Pemex take-over? Another oil industry expropriation?
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bajarah
Newbie
Posts: 11
Registered: 6-28-2010
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In Mexico, I would say that is a good possiblity...
A plant like this is not something that someone not in the oil and gas industry has any business fooling around with.
If things go badly for sempra, the only folks I can see that have even a remote chance of even shutting the place down ( let alone run the place ) are
specialized workers that Pemex might have.
That is what I see may well happen
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Dave
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6005
Registered: 11-5-2002
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It's about money
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajarah
Sempra should take Mexico seriously and at least respond to the court .. otherwise PEMEX might get into a new line of business.
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Regardless of court decisions or environmental rulings , Mexico will not expropriate or shut down the plant. It will continue to operate until an
accommodation can be reached.
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3824
Registered: 2-9-2004
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So pay him for his land. sheesh. It's the lawyers who are the crooks. Incompetent representation, acting in bad faith, inadequate due diligence,
put Sempra at risk - the exact opposite of what they were hired to do. Sempra should sue them.
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Mexican appeals court rules in favor of Sempra
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/28/mexican-appea...
June 28, 2010
San Diego-based Sempra Energy said Monday that a Mexican appeals court has ruled in its favor, saying a property dispute should not close a
natural-gas import terminal 15 miles from Ensenada.
The ruling overruled a lower-court decision ordering Mexican environmental agencies to revoke the permits for a liquefied natural gas plant known as
Energia Costa Azul, Sempra said in a statement.
The lower court acted at the request of Ramon Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie, who said Sempra had improperly taken his land and could not operate the LNG
plant because the parcel is needed as a buffer zone.
Sempra said it can operate the plant without Sanchez’s property because it reconfigured its layout before construction and a requirement for the
setback was removed.
The lower-court judge who issued the ruling is scheduled to hear arguments over operating permits July 6, Sempra said.
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Man says company paid police to arrest him, bulldozed Ensenada home
http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_79ec8820-ac3b-57dc-a...
By TERI FIGUEROA
July 22, 2010
A Mexican citizen has sued Sempra Energy, saying the San Diego company paid Mexican officials to jail him, evict him and his family from their Baja
home, and then bulldozed the place so it could build a massive power plant.
Ramon Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie filed his suit against Sempra in U.S. District Court in San Diego on Tuesday, claiming fraud, trespass, assault and
battery, and false imprisonment.
The filing is the latest salvo in a battle that has played out in Mexican courts ---- which in March ordered the property returned to Sanchez,
according to the suit.
The suit said the disputed property serves as a legally required setback around a Sempra liquid natural gas plant, which is a source of energy for
California and Mexico.
Sempra LNG spokeswoman Kathleen Teora said the site does not serve as a setback because the Mexican government lifted the requirement.
Teora said Sanchez was a squatter and "has never shown any evidence" that he has rights to the land.
Sanchez's attorney, Kirk Hulett, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
According to the federal suit Sanchez filed in San Diego this week, Sanchez has owned the 672-acre property, which sits 15 miles north of Ensenada,
since 1972.
The suit states that Sempra, which owns the regulated utilities San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co., talked to Sanchez
about buying the land in 2001, and thus knew that he was the rightful landowner when they struck a deal with someone else to buy some of the land in
2006.
Sanchez said the company paid Mexican officials $16,000 to raid his home to wrongfully arrest and evict him as an illegal squatter.
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Mexicorn
Senior Nomad
Posts: 772
Registered: 9-15-2009
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Uh oh SDGE prices are about to rise.
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Mexican man sues Sempra over Ensenada LNG plant
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/22/mexican-man-s...
By Onell R. Soto
July 22, 2010
A Mexican man locked in a land dispute with Sempra Energy over its LNG plant near Ensenada is taking the fight to San Diego federal court.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Ramón Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie claims that a subsidiary of the San Diego-based energy giant illegally took more than 600
acres belonging to him and made false statements that led to his arrest.
"Sempra Energy and Mexican officials executed an attack upon Plaintiff's land and person," Sanchez said in the lawsuit, alleging that Sempra and
Mexican officials conspired against him.
He also claims that Sempra bribed Mexican officials and had people lie under oath in Mexican court proceedings.
Sempra denies the bribery and perjury allegations.
"That's absolutely false," said Sempra spokeswoman Kathleen Corbin Teora.
She said the company legally bought the land that Sanchez claims is his and has not acted illegally in the construction of the plant, which was
dedicated in 2008.
"He's a squatter," Teora said. "So we're just going by the fact that we legally purchased this property from the rightful owners that had the title to
property."
She said Sanchez and his financial backers are using the courts in an effort to extract money from Sempra.
"Sempra LNG will continue to vigorously defend its investment in the Energia Costa Azul LNG terminal by whatever legal means are necessary, and will
protect our right to own the property," she said
The Energia Costa Azul terminal is the first on the west coast of North America that can accept LNG, natural gas that has been cooled to 260 degrees
below zero, taking up 600 times less space than at room temperature and can be shipped by boat.
The plant has contracts to import gas from Indonesia and Russia, which is then used in the United States and Mexico.
The case has led to protracted litigation in Mexico.
At Sanchez's request, a Mexican court in May ordered environmental agencies to revoke the plant's permits. An appeals court later put a stop to that
ruling while it weighs the merits of his claims.
The dispute centers on who owns the land. Sanchez, who describes himself as a rancher, says he acquired the land in 1972 and continues to own it. He
says a sale in 1992 to two people, Elodia Gómez Castañón and Armando Navarro Peña, was not done correctly.
Sempra says it bought the land from Gómez and Navarro's representatives in 2006.
Sanchez said he was forcibly removed from the property that year, and his house was flattened as Sempra began construction. He said he was wrongly
jailed after Sempra paid Mexican officials $16,000 in cash.
Sanchez claims his land is needed for a buffer zone to operate the plant. Sempra says it is not. It says it owns the land, but even if it doesn't, the
plant can operate without violating its permits.
Sempra is the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric.
Sanchez claims Sempra violated California law against unfair business practices and is liable for false imprisonment, assault, trespass, battery,
fraud and negligence, among other charges. He wants a judge to order Sempra to pay to reimburse him for his losses, plus any profits it may have
gotten from operation of the plant.
His San Diego lawyer, Kirk Hulett, said he couldn't talk about the case.
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Lawsuit against Sempra dismissed
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/15/lawsuit-again...
Judge says the legal action was aimed at the wrong party
By Jeff McDonald
December 15, 2010
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed last summer by a Mexican property owner against Sempra Energy, the San Diego energy giant he accused of
stealing his land to help build a liquefied natural gas plant along the Baja California coast.
U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino said the plaintiff, Ramon Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie, wrongly singled out Sempra for actions taken by the
Mexican government.
“At the outset, the court notes that Sempra is one-step removed from any misconduct. ... And any harm to plaintiff was caused by Mexican authorities,”
the ruling states.
Neither side in the case announced the ruling, which was issued Dec. 1. The Watchdog discovered the opinion during a check of public records.
Sanchez Ritchie owned about 670 acres near the LNG plant Sempra began planning early this decade.
He alleged in a Mexican lawsuit that the company wrongfully acquired his property. Earlier this year, Sanchez Ritchie was awarded possession of the
land, although the ownership remains in dispute.
Among other allegations, Sanchez Ritchie claimed Sempra bribed Mexican government officials and broke other laws to win approval of the LNG plant. The
company says the payment was a required bond to enforce trespassing laws.
Kirk Hulett, the lawyer representing Sanchez Ritchie, called the ruling technical and vowed to file an amended complaint “to remedy the perceived
deficiency.”
Sempra said in a statement that it was pleased with the decision.
“We believe the court ruled correctly, and that Mr. Sanchez Ritchie does not have any legitimate claims to bring against Sempra Energy,” spokeswoman
Kathleen Corbin Teora said in a prepared statement.
Still outstanding is a separate lawsuit by Rodolfo Michelon, which brings up some of the same claims and additional raises concerns about a $17
million corporate retreat built on the Baja California coast by the company. Executives say no ratepayer funds were used.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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| Quote: | Originally posted by torch
Is this the terminal south of Baja Mar? I never got to surf "georges". (semi secret surf spot). |
Harry's. so secret even the name isn't known. don't tell DonKay there are no secrets in baja!
RIP....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5662255500140179672#
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BajaGringo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3922
Registered: 8-24-2006
Location: La Chorera
Member Is Offline
Mood: Let's have a BBQ!
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I noticed that on several trips passing by in the past few months that they never stopped the construction work. Seems like Sempra was never too
concerned about the outcome...
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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More Sempra Energy projects in Baja
For those who do not know who Sempra Energy is and all that they have planned in Baja ... Wind turbines, each capable of generating approximately 1.5
MW to 3.0 MW. COMPLETE PROJECT DETAILS
"The (wind) project (FIRST of FOUR) is located along the Sierra Juárez mountains. The first phase will be located in the Ejido Jacumé north of the
town of La Rumorosa, about 70 miles east of San Diego and across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Energía Sierra Juárez is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Generation.
Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), acquires and develops power plants and energy infrastructure for the
competitive market. Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2009 revenues of more than $8 billion.
Sempra Energy was created in 1998 by a merger of parent companies of two long-established and highly respected investor-owned utilities ...
San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co, serve more than 20 million consumers. Our other businesses --
Sempra Generation, Sempra Pipelines & Storage and Sempra LNG -- develop critical energy infrastructure in North America.
[Edited on 2010-12-19 by bryanmckenzie]
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
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Curious.
"Most business activities in Mexico are unrestricted to foreign ownership. The minimum number of share holders is two and both can be foreigners,
owning 100% of the company's shares and assets. Business activity exceptions are: petroleum, energy, transportation, banking and fishing. Within these
activities, with the exception of petroleum, foreign investor participation is allowed; subject to Commerce Department limitations."
Source: Mexicomatters.com
Just wondering how Sempra has full ownership?
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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I'm guessing LNG falls under "energy" and not "petroleum." I thought I also recalled a Mexican partner but cannot find the information. Maybe I'm just
imagining that part.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Curious.
"Most business activities in Mexico are unrestricted to foreign ownership. The minimum number of share holders is two and both can be foreigners,
owning 100% of the company's shares and assets. Business activity exceptions are: petroleum, energy, transportation, banking and fishing. Within these
activities, with the exception of petroleum, foreign investor participation is allowed; subject to Commerce Department limitations."
Source: Mexicomatters.com
Just wondering how Sempra has full ownership? |
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bryanmckenzie
Senior Nomad
Posts: 561
Registered: 9-23-2009
Location: 400 Km from Mexico Beach, Florida
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Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Complete details here
Complete details here
Click on Questions & Answers, from the company's investor website.
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
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Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mtgoat666
not a news article. is a press release by one litigant,... just spin doctoring.
the LNG plant will not close |
Lawsuit against SEMPRA Dismissed
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed last summer by a Mexican property owner against Sempra Energy, the San Diego energy giant he accused of
stealing his land to help build a liquefied natural gas plant along the Baja California coast.
U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino said the plaintiff, Ramon Eugenio Sanchez Ritchie, wrongly singled out Sempra for actions taken by the
Mexican government.
"At the outset, the court notes that Sempra is one-step removed from any misconduct. ... And any harm to plaintiff was caused by Mexican authorities,"
the ruling states.
Neither side in the case announced the ruling, which was issued Dec. 1.
The Watchdog discovered the opinion during a check of public records.
Sanchez Ritchie owned about 670 acres near the LNG plant Sempra began planning early this decade.
He alleged in a Mexican lawsuit that the company wrongfully acquired his property. Earlier this year, Sanchez Ritchie was awarded possession of the
land, although the ownership remains in dispute.
Among other allegations, Sanchez Ritchie claimed Sempra bribed Mexican government officials and broke other laws to win approval of the LNG plant. The
company says the payment was a required bond to enforce trespassing laws.
Kirk Hulett, the lawyer representing Sanchez Ritchie, called the ruling technical and vowed to file an amended complaint "to remedy the perceived
deficiency."
Sempra said in a statement that it was pleased with the decision.
"We believe the court ruled correctly, and that Mr. Sanchez Ritchie
does not have any legitimate claims to bring against Sempra
Energy," spokeswoman Kathleen Corbin Teora said in a prepared statement.
Still outstanding is a separate lawsuit by Rodolfo Michelon, which brings up some of the same claims and additional raises concerns abouta $17 million
corporate retreat built on the Baja California coast by the company. Executives say no ratepayer funds were used.
Bob Durrell
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