HOUSTON—NextDecade Corp. announced Feb. 10 that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an order granting authorization to export LNG from its Rio Grande LNG facility to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries.

In combination with a free trade agreement order previously issued in August 2016, NextDecade is now authorized to export LNG equivalent to 1,318 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year from Rio Grande LNG to both FTA and non-FTA countries.

In a press release issued Feb. 10 announcing the order, DOE said, “Record levels of natural gas production in the United States continue to enhance global energy security while providing domestic benefits, including infrastructure development and job creation. If built to capacity, the Rio Grande LNG project, including the connected Rio Bravo pipeline, is expected to create over 5,000 jobs during peak construction and represents infrastructure investment in excess of $15 billion.”

“We greatly appreciate the Energy Department’s diligent review of our Rio Grande LNG project, as well as Secretary Brouillette’s continued support for the export of abundant and reliable U.S. energy to our partners and allies,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade’s chairman and CEO. “This is another significant milestone for our Rio Grande LNG project, which will play a critical role in linking natural gas from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale to the global LNG market, providing countries around the world access to cleaner energy.”

NextDecade achieved another regulatory milestone in November 2019, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order authorizing the siting, construction and operation of Rio Grande LNG and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline. On Jan. 23, FERC issued its final order denying rehearing requests on Rio Grande LNG and Rio Bravo Pipeline.