NextDecade Expects Train 4 FID for Rio Grande This Year

With purchase options already in place, energy company NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) (Houston, Texas) said it expected to make a final investment decision (FID) on a fourth liquefaction facility at its planned Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas.

NextDecade is building its Rio Grande facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) near the Brownsville shipping channel on the Texas Gulf Coast. Its lease includes 15,000 feet of frontage on the channel, and it is permitted for as much as 1.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG exports per year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project and Plant databases can learn more from a detailed plant profile and click here for a list of related project reports.

Over the seven-day period ending May 8, U.S. exports of LNG totaled 79 Bcf, spread across 22 vessels. Most of the shipments left Cheniere Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:LNG) (Houston) six-train Sabine Pass terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

In a Thursday update on its progress, NextDecade said it was planning a final investment decision on the fourth train at Rio Grande by the second half of the year. Engineering, procurement and construction contracts for a fifth train would follow the FID.

TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) (Courbevoie, France) already has offtake agreements associated with the volumes expected from the fourth train.

Bechtel Energy (Reston, Virginia) is supporting the project's development. Trains 1 and 2 are about 18% complete, in line with contractual guidelines. Of that, about 55% of the engineering work was complete, though only about 1.9% of actual construction was finished.

"The Rio Grande LNG Facility has truly begun to take shape recently, as concrete foundation pours for Train 1 are ongoing, key materials such as piping and structural steel have been delivered to the site, and shoreline work and levee construction are underway," said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade's chairman and chief executive officer. "Proactive project and risk management remain key priorities as construction of Phase 1 continues to progress."

With its rich inland shale deposits of natural gas, the U.S. is a world leader in LNG exports. Gas production, however, is slowing down because of sluggish demand and low market prices. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Energy expects total LNG exports to average 12 Bcf per day this year and increase to 14 Bcf per day by 2025.

The increase comes despite a pause on new permits for LNG facilities while the government reviews environmental issues associated with the sector. Critics argue that LNG is still a polluting fossil fuel, with a carbon footprint along the entire supply chain far greater than cleaner sources of energy, such as wind power.

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