NextDecade cuts Rio Grande LNG to five trains

NextDecade Corp. is optimizing its Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) project by cutting a planned six liquefaction trains to five. Original front-end engineering and design for RGLNG was based on six 4.5-million tonne/year (tpy) LNG trains.

Liquefaction technology, however, has evolved since the project’s 2015-16 filings with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), such that five trains will now produce the planned 27-million tpy total output, both reducing CO₂ emissions by 21% and cutting construction time. The company also anticipates a smaller plant footprint and reduced road traffic.

Future development of Train 6 will require NextDecade to secure authorization from FERC, the US Department of Energy, and any other relevant federal or state agencies.

NextDecade earlier this year delayed RGLNG’s final investment decision to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the LNG market (OGJ Online, May 20, 2020).