NextDecade LLC has received notification from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of acceptance into the pre-filing process for its 27-million tonne/year Rio Grande LNG liquefaction plant and associated Rio Bravo pipeline. Rio Grande LNG, a wholly owned subsidiary of NextDecade, is a land-based LNG export project on a 1,000-acre site along the Brownsville Shipping Channel in Brownsville, Tex.
NextDecade’s proposal includes plans for up to 6 liquefaction trains, each with a 4.5-million tpy nominal output capacity. The plant will be constructed in phases timed to meet market demand. The 129-mile Rio Bravo pipeline will supply the plant, connecting it to the Agua Dulce natural gas market hub. NextDecade has completed a basis of design for Rio Grande LNG with CB&I.
The company expects to make a final investment decision on the Rio Grande’s $8-billion Phase 1 in 2017, pending regulatory approvals.
NextDecade has also proposed the Pelican Island LNG project in Galveston, Tex. The US Department of Energy 2 years ago granted NextDecade-owned Pangea LNG authorization to export LNG to countries with which the US has free-trade agreements from a site on the La Quinta Ship Channel in Corpus Christi, Tex. (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2013).
Contact Christopher E. Smith at [email protected].
