NextDecade Texas Rio Grande LNG Train 1 on track for late 2027 completion

China Gas Holdings

10/05/2024 15:38

May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG)
company NextDecade  NEXT.O  said the first phase of its Rio
Grande project in Texas remained on budget and on schedule for
substantial completion of three liquefaction trains from late
2027 to late 2028/early 2029.
    The company said in its first quarter earnings presentation
late on Thursday that the estimated capital cost of the first
17.6-million tonnes per annum (MTPA) phase of the project
remains $18.0 billion.
    In addition to the first three-train phase of the project,
NextDecade CEO Matt Schatzman said in the earnings release that
the company was "focused on achieving a positive FID (final
investment decision) on Train 4 in the second half of this
year."
    "We expect TotalEnergies to exercise its option to purchase
1.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Train 4, and commercial
discussions are progressing well with numerous additional
counterparties for the remainder of the LNG necessary to support
a positive FID on Train 4 this year," Schatzman said.
    French oil major TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA  holds a 16.7%
economic interest in the first phase of the project with a
roughly $1.1 billion commitment, according to NextDecade's
presentation.
    Other equity joint venture partners include project sponsor
NextDecade with up to a 20.8% economic interest and roughly $283
million commitment.
    The remaining 62.5% economic interest is held by project
advisers infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure
Partners with about $3.5 billion committed, Singaporean
sovereign investor GIC with $750 million committed and Abu Dhabi
sovereign investor Mubadala Investment with $500 million
committed.
    In addition to TotalEnergies, which has agreed to buy 5.4
MTPA of LNG from the first three-train phase of the project,
several other energy companies have also agreed to buy LNG from
Rio Grande.
    These buyers include units of Shell  SHEL.L  at 2.04 MTPA,
Guangdong Energy Group  GDONGD.UL  at 1.00 MTPA, ENN Natural Gas
 600803.SS  at 2.00 MTPA, ENGIE  ENGIE.PA  at 1.75 MTPA, China
Gas Holdings  0384.HK  at 1.00 MTPA, ExxonMobil  XOM.N  at 1.00
MTPA, Galp Energia SGPS  GALP.LS  at 1.00 MTPA and Itochu
 8001.T  at 1.00 MTPA.
    The total proposed Rio Grande project includes five 5.4-MTPA
liquefaction trains capable of turning about 3.6 billion cubic
feet per day of natural gas into about 27 MTPA of LNG.

 (Reporting by Scott DiSavino
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
 ((scott.disavino@thomsonreuters.com; +1 332 219 1922; Reuters
Messaging: scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))