NextDecade Plans Rio Grande LNG's Construction, Seeks New Site for 2nd Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NextDecade (The Woodlands, Texas) is moving forward in Texas with plans to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export terminal, while seeking a new site for a second planned LNG project. The Rio Grande LNG project is progressing, while another project has flown from its original planned Pelican Island site in Galveston.

Plans for the Rio Grande LNG development in Brownsville, continue to move through the permitting process. NextDecade is expecting a favorable environmental impact statement (EIS) in the first half of this year, with the final Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit before the close of 2017. If all goes well, and upon receiving a positive final investment decision, NextDecade will begin construction in 2018.

The Rio Grande LNG site will consist of three phases of two LNG trains, with each train producing 4.5 million metric tons per year for a total of 9 million metric tons per year of LNG. Once the entire site is complete, the facility will produce 27 million metric tons per year. A fourth phase of the same design and capacity is being discussed as well. The site will have an overall storage capacity of 720,000 cubic meters and will be supported by the planned Rio Bravo Pipeline.

NextDecade's second site was originally planned for Pelican Island in Galveston, but after talks with the Port of Houston Authority, an agreement could not be made for the land. Instead, NextDecade is exploring the possibility of building at Shoal Point in Texas City, Texas. The site will have the original design as what was planned for Pelican Island, with two trains each producing 4.5 million metric tons per year of LNG for a total of 9 million metric tons per year. The Shoal Point project is most likely about four years out from construction at the earliest, since official design and permitting have not yet begun.

NextDecade has been in talks with customers in Europe and Asia and has non-binding agreements for 26 million metric tons per year of the LNG that will be produced at the Brownsville site. While Asian and South American utility companies have been the majority of purchasers for U.S.-produced LNG, Europe is starting to turn its attention to the West. This is mainly due to rising gas prices and lower supplies in the region than in the recent past. Cargoes will begin to drop as winter ends and spring begins, but LNG producers are in it for the long haul; a few deliveries now could prove to be more deliveries later.

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