Rio Grande LNG Train 5 has reached final investment decision (FID), a month after Train 4.
A statement from NextDecade Corporation – which holds a 50% stake in the project – said it has issued “full notice to proceed” to engineering and construction firm Bechtel Energy.
Train 5 will have LNG production capacity of around 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), bringing total expected LNG production capacity under construction to approximately 30 mtpa. First deliveries are expected in the first half of 2031.
It is commercially supported by 4.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of 20-year LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with JERA, EQT Corporation, and ConocoPhillips, which was signed last month (1 mtpa). Costs for Train 5 and related infrastructure are expected to total approximately $6.7bn.
Matt Schatzman, NextDecade’s Chairman and CEO, said it marked its second FID in just over a month, following the approval of Train 4, which also has production capacity of around 6 mtpa.
Train 4 is commercially supported by 4.6 mtpa of 20-year LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with ADNOC, TotalEnergies, and Aramco.
NextDecade’s interest in Train 5 will increase to 70% after investors achieve ‘certain returns’.
The US government is fast-tracking permits to ensure LNG remains at the forefront of the domestic and global energy transition.
But environmental groups such as Greenpeace maintain that building new terminals will increase greenhouse gas emissions, displace renewable energy and raise gas demand.