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Jul. 13—Only have a minute? Listen instead
More than eight years after Rio Grande LNG LLC submitted a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin the pre-filing process on a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Brownsville, parent company NextDecade Corporation on July 12 announced it had made a positive final investment decision (FID) to proceed with construction of the project.
Port officials hailed the decision as great news for the port and the area economy, while environmentalists and others opposed to LNG terminals at the port expressed dismay and criticism.
With the announcement of the FID, NextDecade will commence construction of the first three liquefaction trains, or units, of the Rio Grande terminal, phase one of which will have the capacity to produce 17.6 million metric tons (MTPA) of LNG per year.
When fully built out, the plant will have a capacity of 27 MTPA, according to the company. Natural gas, which is mostly methane, will be transported to the facility via pipeline, liquefied through a super-cooling process and then loaded onto LNG vessels for shipment to foreign customers.
Phase one involves $18.4 billion in financing, making it the biggest greenfield energy project financing in U.S. history, which "underscores the critical role that LNG and natural gas will continue to play in the global energy transition," according to NextDecade.
"Greenfield" means a project site has not been previously developed. With industry experts forecasting a global LNG shortfall before 2030, projects such as Rio Grande LNG may be necessary to avoid prolonged dependence on other, more carbon-intensive fuels such as oil and coal, the company said.
Rio Grande LNG will sit on 984 acres between S.H. 4 and the Brownsville Ship Channel. Along with the positive FID announcement, Rio Grande LNG issued a notice to proceed to Bechtel Energy Inc, which is contracted to build the plant, to begin construction of phase one.
Esteban Guerra, chairman of the Brownsville Navigation District, said in response to the news that the "future of the Rio Grande Valley's economy begins at the Port of Brownsville."
"On behalf of the port and our (BND) board of commissioners, we congratulate NextDecade on their final investment decision announcement for the development of the Rio Grande LNG facility," he said. "This dynamic project, the largest private infrastructure investment in the state of Texas, will provide good-paying jobs and economic growth to the region."