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NextDecade reduces Rio Grande LNG plan to five trains
TEXAS
HOUSTON-BASED NextDecade announced on July 14 that it was optimising the plan for its Rio Grande LNG export project on the Texas Gulf Coast. e company’s original plan called for six liquefaction trains that would each have a capacity of 4.5mn tonnes per year, giving Rio Grande LNG an overall capacity of 27mn tpy. However, the optimisation means the facility would now be able to produce the same volume of LNG with ve trains instead of six.
In a statement, NextDecade said the technol- ogies it had selected for its project had evolved over the ve-year permitting period since it had filed the original front-end engineering and design (FEED) for Rio Grande with regulators in 2015-16. e company said multiple optimi- sations had been identi ed, and as well as mak- ing the trains more e cient they would lead to lower total carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the facility.
NextDecade estimated that CO2e emissions would be lowered by around 21% as a result of the optimisations, which it also said would lead to a shortened construction timeline for the project.
e announcement comes a er the company postponed a nal investment decision (FID) on Rio Grande in May, pushing it back from 2020 to 2021. It cited the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on LNG market condi- tions as the reason for its delay, joining a handful of other North American companies postponing FIDs on new liquefaction capacity.
NextDecade said in May that beginning in the second quarter of 2020, it expected its pre- FID development spending to average just over
$2mn per month. e company has also cut and furloughed sta in order to reduce costs during the market downturn.
It now expects to vacate Train 6 at Rio Grande LNG in due course. It also noted that any future effort to revive the sixth train would require new authorisation from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions (FERC), the federal Department of Energy (DoE) and any other relevant federal or state agency with jurisdiction over the project.
“ is is an extremely positive development for all of our stakeholders, as the environmental bene ts from these optimisations are signi - cant,” stated NextDecade’s chairman and CEO, Matt Schatzman. “In addition to the emissions reductions we will achieve, these optimisations will reduce the project’s footprint, tra c and construction schedule, and demonstrate our ongoing commitments to the community in the Rio Grande Valley.”
e company will be hoping that the optimi- sations will help mollify local opposition to the project in the Rio Grande Valley. Rio Grande LNG and two other export terminals proposed for the Port of Brownsville area face opposi- tion from a coalition of shrimpers, shermen, environmentalists and local communities, who cite the potential environmental impact of the projects.
Rio Grande LNG is the only one out of the three projects to have announced a rm o ake deal to date. However, the 20-year deal, with Royal Dutch Shell, only covers 2mn tpy. Next- Decade has said it needs to sell another 9mn tpy under long-term contracts in order to reach FID on two or three trains at Rio Grande.™
NextDecade has said it needs to sell another 9mn tpy of LNG under long-term contracts in order to reach FID on two or three trains at Rio Grande.
NextDecade estimated that CO2e emissions would be lowered by around 21% as a result of the optimisations.
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