Aramco and NextDecade Corp. are negotiating a binding agreement for LNG offtake from the Rio Grande LNG plant under development at the Port of Brownsville, Tex. The negotiations come following the signing of a non-binding heads of agreement (HoA).
Under the HoA, Aramco expects to purchase 1.2 million tonnes/year (tpy) of LNG from Train 4 for 20 years on a free on board basis, at a price indexed to Henry Hub.
Once executed, the effectiveness of a binding agreement will be subject to a positive final investment decision on Train 4, which NextDecade expects to reach in this year’s second half (OGJ Online, June 4, 2024). Train 4 front-end engineering and design (FEED) and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract processes are under way, with the EPC contract expected to be finalized with Bechtel Energy Inc. by the end of the second quarter. Bechtel is Rio Grande LNG’s Phase 1 EPC contractor.
An executed offtake contract with Aramco follows an option from TotalEnergies SE purchase 1.5 million tpy of Train 4’s production (OGJ Online, June 14, 2023).
