((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company NextDecade NEXT.O said the first phase of its Rio Grande project in Texas remains on budget and on schedule for substantial completion of the three liquefaction trains from late 2027 to late 2028 /early 2029.
The company said in its first quarter results presentation late Thursday that the estimated capital cost of the 17.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) first phase of the project remains at $18.0 billion.
In addition to the first three-train phase of the project, NextDecade CEO Matt Schatzman said in the press release that the company is “focused on obtaining a positive final investment decision for the train 4 during the second half of this year”
“We expect TotalEnergies to exercise its option to purchase 1.5 million tonnes per year of LNG from Train 4, and commercial discussions are progressing well with many additional considerations for the remainder of the LNG needed to support a positive final investment decision on the 4 train this year,” Schatzman said.
French oil major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA has a 16.7% economic interest in the first phase of the project, with a commitment of around $1.1 billion, according to NextDecade’s presentation.
Other partners in the joint venture include project developer NextDecade, which holds a 20.8% economic interest and has committed approximately $283 million.
The remaining 62.5% is held by infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners, which has committed $3.5 billion, by Singaporean sovereign investor GIC, which has committed $3.5 billion. of $750 million, and by Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment, which committed $500 million.
In addition to TotalEnergies, which agreed to purchase 5.4 MTPA of LNG from the first three-train phase of the project, several other energy companies have also agreed to purchase LNG from Rio Grande.
These buyers include units of Shell SHEL.L at 2.04 MTPA, Guangdong Energy Group GDONGD.UL at 1.00 MTPA, ENN Natural Gas 600803.SS at 2.00 MTPA, ENGIE ENGIE.PA at 1.75 MTPA, China Gas Holdings 0384.HK at 1.00 MTPA, ExxonMobil
XOM.N at 1.00 MTPA, Galp Energia SGPS GALP.LS at 1.00 MTPA and Itochu 8001.T at 1.00 MTPA.
The Rio Grande Project includes a total of five 5.4 MTPA liquefaction trains capable of converting approximately 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas into approximately 27 MTPA of LNG.