US gas developer, NextDecade Corp’s Chairman and CEO, Matt Schatzman, has provided an update on activities for the third quarter and early fourth quarter of this year.
“We continued to make excellent progress on the construction of Phase 1 at the Rio Grande facility during the third quarter. The facility continues to progress safely, in line with schedule, and on budget, and the site has significantly advanced in the past few months.
“The Bechtel team has done exemplary work, including continued pipe work for Train 1, completing the first foundation pour for Train 2, and preparing to begin deep soil mixing for Train 3. Bechtel has also laid feed gas piping and begun constructing walls for both storage tanks. We remain committed to working with Bechtel to prioritise safety and risk management as Phase 1 construction continues.
“We have been managing the DC Circuit Court’s August decision to vacate the re-authorisation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility with our partners and stakeholders, and we would like to thank the local Rio Grande Valley community, numerous local and federal elected officials, our LNG customers, our lenders, our equity partners, the Brownsville Navigation District, Bechtel, our suppliers, many industry participants and groups, and all other stakeholders for their widespread support of the Rio Grande LNG project and the company.
“In October, we filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc with the Court. The Court’s decision will not become effective while the appeals process is ongoing, and we remain committed to taking any and all available legal and regulatory actions to ensure that Phase 1 will be delivered on time and on budget and that FID on Trains 4 and 5 will not be unduly delayed,” he concluded.
As of September 2024, the overall project completion percentage for Trains 1 and 2 and the common facilities of the Rio Grande LNG Facility was 30.5%, which was in line with the schedule under the EPC contract.
The overall project completion percentage for the facility’s Train 3 was 9.8%, which was also in line with the schedule under the EPC contract.
In July 2024, NextDecade appointed Tarik Skeik as COO. He has over 20 years of experience delivering complex global mega projects in LNG, oil, and petrochemicals across North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
A month later, the company entered into an EPC contract with Bechtel for Train 4 and related infrastructure.
In the same month, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a decision vacating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) re-authorisation of Rio Grande LNG on the grounds that FERC should have issued a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) during its re-authorisation process.
On 21st October, 2024, the company filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc with the Court.
The company expects to take all available legal and regulatory actions, including but not limited to, appellate actions and other strategies, to ensure that construction on Phase 1 will continue and that necessary regulatory approvals will be maintained to enable a positive final investment decision (FID) on Trains 4 and 5 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
Achieving a positive FID on Trains 4 and 5 will be subject to, among other things, maintaining requisite governmental approvals, finalising and entering into EPC contracts, entering into appropriate commercial arrangements, and obtaining adequate financing to construct each train and related infrastructure.
NextDecade expects to finance construction of Train 4 utilising a combination of debt and equity funding.
It also said it expected to begin the EPC contracting process for Train 5 after a positive FID on Train 4.
