NextDecade gains needed commercial support for Rio Grande LNG Train 4
NextDecade Corp. has signed a supply agreement with TotalEnergies for LNG from Train 4 at Rio Grande LNG, completing the commercial support needed for the project, the company said in a release Apr. 14.
TotalEnergies exercised its LNG purchase option and subsidiaries of both companies executed a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement for offtake from Train 4. The companies are already partnered on Rio Grande LNG Trains 1-3. TotalEnergies holds a 16.67% stake in the joint-venture in charge of the first phase (OGJ Online, June 14, 2023).
Under the terms of the agreement, TotalEnergies Gas & Power North America Inc. will purchase 1.5 million tonnes/year (tpy) of LNG for 20 years on a free-on-board basis at a price indexed to Henry Hub, subject to a positive final investment decision (FID) on Train 4.
The deal follows one NextDecade made with a Saudi Aramco subsidiary for offtake from the Rio Grande LNG plant under construction in Brownsville, Tex. (OGJ Online, Apr. 8, 2025).
NextDecade has contracted a total of 4.6 million tpy of LNG from Train 4 on a long-term basis and expects existing long-term commercial agreements to be sufficient to support a positive FID on Train 4, which is subject to, among other things, obtaining adequate financing to construct Train 4 and related infrastructure, the company said.
NextDecade is currently constructing the first three liquefaction trains on a 984-acre site and progressing work to commercialize Rio Grande LNG Trains 4-5. As of January 2025, Trains 1-2 are 38.1% complete. Train 3 is about 15.3% complete. About 48 million tpy of potential liquefaction capacity is currently under construction or in development, according to NextDecade.
