TotalEnergies, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) NextDecade Corporation, and their partners, GIC and Mubadala, made the final investment decision (FID) to develop phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG), a natural gas liquefaction (LNG) project in South Texas.

This first phase comprises 3 liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 17.5 million tons per annum (Mtpa) and CAPEX of $14.8 billion.

The Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract has been awarded to Bechtel, and commissioning of the plant is scheduled for 2027.

The project will be financed by equity contributions from the partners and by a debt contribution concluded today with an international banks’ consortium.

As a result of this decision, and according to the terms of the agreement signed in June, TotalEnergies acquires a 16.67 per cent stake in the joint-venture in charge of this first phase, and will participate in its equity contributions, for a total amount of $1.1 billion.

Also, will hold a total 17.5 per cent stake in NextDecade for a total amount of $219 million. A first tranche of 5.06 per cent was acquired last June, and a second tranche will be acquired in the next few days to increase this stake to 12.47 per cent and a third tranche of 5.03 per cent shall be acquired before the end of the year.

In addition, TotalEnergies will also offtake 5.4 Mtpa of LNG from the production of this phase for 20 years.

“We are delighted with this final investment decision that enable us to launch the construction of this new LNG liquefaction plant in the Unites States, to which TotalEnergies will contribute its expertise in the development of major LNG projects,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

Pouyanné adds, “This project gives TotalEnergies access to competitive LNG thanks to its low production costs. LNG from this first phase will boost TotalEnergies U.S. LNG export capacity to over 15 Mtpa by 2030, and thus our ability to contribute to European gas security, and to provide customers in Asia with an alternative form of energy that is half as emissive as coal.”

“Having TotalEnergies as a key partner in the Rio Grande LNG project is an honor. Their long-standing reputation as a leader in the LNG and energy industry makes this a great partnership,” said Matt Schatzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NextDecade.

Schatzman adds, “Working together with TotalEnergies, we will be able to fulfill our mission to deliver lower carbon-intensive LNG to customers around the globe and we look forward to working together as construction on Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG begins.”

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