LNG

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export plant in Texas, confirmed a non-binding accord with Saudi Arabia for the supply of cargoes from the future Train 4 of the plant being constructed at the Port of Brownsville.

The Heads of Agreement (HoA) was for 20 years with the upstream division of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco).

The Rio Grande project is located on 984 acres of land which has been leased long term and includes 15,000 feet of frontage on the Brownsville Ship Channel.

The venture has received all necessary approvals and authorizations required for construction, including those from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which allow for development, construction and operation of up to five Trains and 27 million tonnes per annum of LNG exports.

Under the terms of the HoA, Aramco expects to purchase 1.2 MTPA of LNG at a price indexed to the US benchmark Henry Hub price.

The NextDecade-Aramco accord would be subject to a positive final investment decision on Train 4.

Finalising terms

“We look forward to finalizing the terms of a long-term LNG offtake agreement with NextDecade, as we explore opportunities to expand our presence in international energy markets,” said Nasir K. Al-Naimi, Aramco Upstream President.

“We expect LNG to play an important role in meeting the rising demand for secure and efficient energy,” added Al-Naimi.

Matt Schatzman, NextDecade Chairman and Chief Executive, said he was pleased with the Saudi accord.

“We look forward to finalizing the LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement with Aramco and to pursuing other opportunities together,” Schatzman stated.

NextDecade is targeting an investment decision on Train 4 in the second half of 2024, subject to finalizing and entering into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, gaining appropriate commercial support, and obtaining adequate financing to construct Train 4 and related infrastructure.

The Phase 1 construction at the Rio Grande plant includes three liquefaction Trains with a total nameplate capacity of 17.61 MTPA of LNG production, two 180,000 cubic metres full containment LNG storage tanks and two jetty berthing structures designed to load LNG carriers up to 216,000 cubic meters in capacity.

Phase 1 also includes associated site infrastructure and common facilities including feed gas pre-treatment facilities, electric and water utilities, two totally enclosed ground flares for the LNG tanks and roads and levees surrounding the entire site.

NextDecade Corp., the company developing the Rio Grande LNG export plant on the north shore of the Brownsville Ship Channel in South Texas, has given an update on strategic activities through the early second quarter of 2024.

NextDecade Corp., the company developing the Rio Grande LNG export plant on the north shore of the Brownsville Ship Channel in south Texas, has given a comprehensive update on strategic activities through the first quarter of 2024.

NextDecade Corp., the company developing the Rio Grande LNG export plant on the north shore of the Brownsville Ship Channel in south Texas, has given an update on third-quarter business activities and progress on the joint venture.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project in Brownsville in Texas, has entered into a credit agreement with a group of lenders for $356 million of senior loans to finance a portion of the first three liquefaction Trains.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, has formally taken a final investment decision to build the first three liquefaction Trains and export facilities with anticipated full capacity of around 27 million tonnes per annum with funding from the US, the Middle East and Asia.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, has teamed up with a New York investment fund and TotalEnergies to enable a final investment decision for the first three liquefaction Trains and with the French major buying 5.4 million tonnes per annum of cargoes and taking a large stake in NextDecade.

NextDecade Corp. the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project on the Brownsville Ship Channel in Texas, has signed a 15-year sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Japanese trading house Itochu Corp., its first deal with Japan and its seventh SPA overall.

Under the latest SPA, Itochu will purchase 1.0 million tonnes per annum of LNG indexed to Henry Hub on a free-on-board basis.

Itochu was also one of the three Japanese companies that recently signed deals with Oman LNG on the Arabian Peninsula for 800,000 tonnes per annum of deliveries each.

“We are honored to have Itochu as our first Japanese customer,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade's Chairman and Chief Executive.

“We look forward to providing Itochu and their customers with LNG, and we are actively working to reduce the carbon footprint of the Rio Grande LNG facility through our proposed carbon capture and storage project,” added the CEO of the Nasdaq-listed company.

NextDecade had previously signed an increase for the SPA with ENN LNG of Singapore, a trading unit of the Chinese ENN Natural Gas Group.

Supplying China

Under that 10-year SPA, ENN will now purchase 2.0 MTPA of LNG. Several other Chinese companies have signed agreements for volumes from the Rio Grande plant.

The company’s sales volumes will be supplied from the first three Trains at the Rio Grande facility.

Houston, Texas-based NextDecade has ultimate plans and permits to produce up to 27 MTPA of LNG from five liquefaction Trains at the Rio Grande facility.

The Rio Grande project has been delayed several times since 2020 and was originally expected to start producing LNG in 2023.

NextDecade said it was currently targeting a positive final investment decision on the first three Trains during the first quarter of 2023, with FIDs of its remaining Trains to follow thereafter.

NextDecade had other deals signed in December 2022 and in previous months, including one with Galp Trading S.A. of Portugal.

This was its fifth deal of last year and counting the increase of volumes for ENN Group and the latest Itochu agreement to supply Japan, NextDecade has signed a total of seven supply accords.

NextDecade's other SPAs during 2022 included one with ExxonMobil Corp.

The US major signed a 20-year supply deal with NextDecade at the end of July 2022 through its trading subsidiary in Asia.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project on the Brownsville Ship Channel in Texas, has signed a volume increase of the sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with ENN LNG of Singapore, a trading unit of the Chinese ENN Natural Gas Group.

NextDecade Corp., the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project on the Brownsville Ship Channel in Texas, has signed a long-term sale and purchase agreement with Galp Trading S.A. of Portugal.

NextDecade, based in Houston, said that under the 20-year deal Galp would purchase 1.0 million tonnes per annum of LNG indexed to the US benchmark Henry Hub gas price on a free-on-board (FOB) basis whereby the Portuguese supply their own ships.

“We are honored to have Galp, one of Portugal’s largest energy companies and a key player in the Iberian Peninsula, as our customer,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade's Chairman and Chief Executive.

“We look forward to helping Galp, as well as other European companies and their customers, meet their energy needs by offering a lower-cost, reliable source of LNG with lower carbon-intensity,” added Schatzman.

FID moves

NextDecade explained that it was targeting a positive final investment decision on the first three Trains of the Rio Grande project for the first quarter of 2023.

Further FIDs on the other permitted liquefaction Trains would follow thereafter for the venture with proposed 27 MTPA of output.

NextDecade has made progress with other SPAs during 2022, including one with ExxonMobil Corp.

The US major signed a 20-year supply deal with NextDecade at the end of July 2022 through its trading subsidiary in Asia.

Under that SPA, the US major’s Asia unit would purchase 1 MTPA of LNG supplied from the first two Trains of the Rio Grande facility.

The first Train is expected to start commercial operations as early as 2026.

NextDecade has also signed three supply agreement with Chinese companies, including a 20-year deal with China Gas Hongda Energy Trading Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Gas Holdings.

That deal was also for 1 MTPA of LNG indexed to Henry Hub and delivered on a FOB basis.

NextDecade in April 2022 signed a 20-year SPA with the Singapore trading arm of ENN Group of China and another with China’s Guangdong Energy Group Natural Gas.