NextDecade, a Houston-based company developing the Rio Grande LNG center in Brownsville, Texas, announced plans to expand the facility by three trains in the company’s fourth-quarter business update on Feb. 28.

The company will be expanding beyond Trains 1 through 5 and has already started the permitting process for Train 6 and the development of Trains 7 and 8, NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman said in the release.

The company plans to build Train 6 on the current site levee, with Trains 7 and 8 developed outside of it. NextDecade plans to file its preliminary requests to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this year.

“Additionally, we expect to explore options for the development of up to two additional trains at our site beyond Train 8,” Schatzman said in the release.

The first five trains will have a combined LNG production capacity of 27 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Trains 6, 7 and 8 are projected to have a capacity of 6 mtpa each.

Permits and FID

NextDecade also provided updates on the status of the facility’s first five trains.

Trains 1 through 3 have been under construction since 2023. The first two trains are 38% complete, while the third is 15.3% complete.

The company is working towards securing customers in order to declare a final investment decision (FID) for the fourth and fifth trains.

Last year, NextDecade ran into a regulatory obstacle when the Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, vacated permits that the FERC had already awarded. The court said the FERC should have demanded more information on greenhouse gas emissions in the facility’s environmental impact statement.

The FERC has scheduled a review for an amended environmental impact statement and issuance of a final order by November, according to NextDecade’s statement.

NextDecade was one of several LNG facilities that had FERC permits vacated by the appeals court, all with the same request for further environmental review. The FERC has responded to similar requests from the D.C. Court of Appeals with amended impact statements that say the court’s requests fall outside the FERC’s jurisdiction.

Since the court’s ruling, construction at the site has continued.

“The company expects to take all available legal and regulatory actions, including appellate actions, to ensure that construction on Phase 1 will continue and that necessary regulatory approvals will be maintained to enable a positive FID on Trains 4 and 5 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility,” NextDecade said in the statement.

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