NextDecade takes FID to develop Train 5 at Rio Grande LNG

NextDecade Corp. has made a positive final investment decision (FID) to develop Train 5 at the Rio Grande LNG project currently under development in Texas.

With the FID, the company noted it closed financial transactions to fully fund Train 5 and its related infrastructure and has issued full notice to proceed to Bechtel Energy Inc. under the company’s lump-sum, turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract.

Train 5 has expected LNG production capacity of about 6 million tonnes/year (tpy), bringing the total expected LNG production capacity under construction at Rio Grande LNG to about 30 million tpy.

Train 5 is commercially supported by 4.5 million tpy of 20-year LNG agreements with JERA, EQT Corp., and ConocoPhillips.

The guaranteed substantial completion date for Train 5, as well as the date of first commercial delivery under the Train 5 LNG agreements, is expected in first-half 2031.

Train 5 and its related infrastructure is expected to cost around $6.7 billion, and NextDecade has closed on some $6.7 billion in committed financing.

NextDecade holds a 50% initial economic interest in Train 5, which will increase to 70% after financial investors achieve certain returns on their investments.