San Diego, 20 September 2010

Sempra Energy and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) today announced that Noble Group Ltd. has agreed to acquire the San Diego-based Sempra Energy Solutions unit of the RBS-Sempra Commodities joint venture for $317 million in cash, plus assumption of $265 million in debt.

This transaction represents the beginning of the second phase of the RBS Sempra Commodities asset sales. In July, Sempra Energy and RBS completed the first phase of the asset sales with a transaction to sell to JP Morgan Chase & Co. the joint venture's global metals and oil businesses, as well as the European natural gas and power businesses, for approximately $1.6 billion. Sempra Energy and RBS are in advanced negotiations for the sale of the last remaining assets of the joint venture, the North American wholesale power and natural gas business, which is based in Connecticut.

"With this sale of Sempra Energy Solutions and advanced negotiations underway for the remaining North American operations of RBS Sempra Commodities, we are on track with our plan to exit the commodities business," said Donald E. Felsinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Sempra Energy.

Sempra Energy Solutions is the U.S. retail commodity marketing arm of RBS Sempra Commodities. With approximately 200 employees, Sempra Energy Solutions markets energy to commercial and industrial customers in 16 states.

The transaction, which will require regulatory approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2010.

Sempra Energy expects its share of the proceeds from the sale of all of the joint venture's businesses and related cash distributions to total $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion. These distributions are net of expected transactional transition costs and are not expected to fully recover the goodwill included in the carrying value of Sempra Energy's investment in the joint venture. Accordingly, Sempra Energy also expects in the third quarter 2010 to reduce its investment in RBS Sempra Commodities, resulting in an after-tax charge ranging from $50 million to $150 million.

"Our development of the commodities business has been a very successful enterprise," Felsinger said. "After more than a decade of consistent growth, we expect to exit the business with approximately $3.5 billion in cash on an initial investment of $260 million."

Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2009 revenues of more than $8 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 13,800 employees serve about 29 million consumers worldwide.

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