The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted NextDecade permission to begin construction of liquefaction Trains 4 and 5 at its Rio Grande LNG export facility in Texas (United States), according to a 12 March 2026 filing with the FERC (Pipeline and Gas Journal, 12/03/2026).
FERC noted that the authorisation applies only to the construction of the liquefaction trains and specified offsite work, and does not extend to other project facilities at the LNG terminal. Trains 4 and 5 will add 12 Mt/year of export capacity when complete (6 Mt/year each). NextDecade is already constructing the first phase (three trains) at the Texas facility with a combined production capacity of 18 Mt/year, with first LNG expected in 2027.
The company stated that Train 4 is commercially supported by 20-year agreements with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, TotalEnergies and Saudi Aramco for 4.6 Mt/year. Train 5 is commercially supported by 20-year agreements with JERA, EQT Corp and ConocoPhillips for 4.5 Mt/year.
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