NextDecade receives bank commitments for Rio Grande LNG, updates FID timing

NextDecade Corp. received binding commitments from a syndicate of lenders in an amount sufficient, together with expected project equity funding, to support a positive final investment decision (FID) on the first three liquefaction trains (Phase 1) of the Rio Grande LNG plant in Brownsville, Tex.

However, due in part to observance of various holidays around the world, the company is now targeting FID on Phase 1 in early July with FIDs of its remaining trains to follow thereafter, the company said in a June 30 release.

The lender group includes project finance banks in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, the company said.

Earlier this month, TotalEnergies SE signed an agreement to hold interest in the 27-million tonne/year (tpy) Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) project. TotalEnergies will hold a 16.7% interest in the first phase of the project (OGJ Online, June 14, 2023).

The first phase of RGLNG, expected for start-up in 2027, will be developed by NextDecade as shareholder and operator, Global Infrastructure Partners as majority shareholder, and TotalEnergies.

NextDecade has sold 16.2 million tpy of LNG from Phase 1, or 92% of nameplate capacity, under long-term agreements, sufficient to support the binding debt commitments from lenders and the near-term FID of the 17.61 million tpy Phase 1.