NextDecade Receives Financial Backing for Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG Project, Adjusts FID Schedule
A syndicate pledges funding support; 92% of Phase 1 capacity is included under the long-term sale agreements.
NextDecade Corporation, a prominent LNG developer, announced that its Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) project has secured binding commitments from a global syndicate of lenders. These commitments, in combination with anticipated project equity funding, are expected to underpin a favorable final investment decision (FID) for the initial three liquefaction trains, also known as Phase 1, at the Rio Grande LNG export facility in Brownsville, Texas. The group of lenders includes prominent project finance banks from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
NextDecade has already sold 16.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Phase 1, equivalent to 92% of its nameplate capacity. These long-term sale and purchase agreements are sufficient to support the binding debt commitments from the lenders and the imminent FID for Phase 1, which boasts a capacity of 17.61 MTPA.
However, NextDecade has shifted the timing for the FID due to several global holidays, including the July 4th holiday. The company now plans to announce the FID for Phase 1 in early July, with FIDs for the remaining trains to be declared subsequently.
