NextDecade said on Monday it was targeting a final investment decision (FID) and plans to start construction of the fourth liquefaction train at its Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas by the second half of 2024.
The Rio Grande LNG export plant has been in development for several years, suffering repeated delays. Last year the company made an FID to construct the first three liquefaction trains at the facility.
NextDecade expects to finalize commercial arrangements for Train 4 in the coming months to support the FID. It plans to build the fifth liquefaction train after the Train 4 FID.
The company said if TotalEnergies exercises its LNG purchase options, NextDecade estimates an additional three million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG must be contracted on a long-term basis for Train 4 and 5 each, before making a positive FID.
The French energy firm currently has LNG purchase options of 1.5 MTPA for Train 4 and 5 each.
(Reuters - Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)