TOTALENERGIES PARTNERS WITH NEXTDECADE TO DEVELOP THE RIO GRANDE LNG PROJECT

TotalEnergies has signed a framework agreement with the US company NextDecade to participate in the development of the Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) project, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant located in South Texas. Under the terms of the agreement, and subject to execution of definitive documentation and final investment decision:
• TotalEnergies shall hold a 16.7% interest in the first phase of the project, which consists of three liquefaction trains with total annual capacity of 17.5 million tons per annum (Mtpa).
• TotalEnergies shall offtake 5.4 Mtpa of LNG from this first phase for twenty years, which brings the Company’s US LNG export capacity to more than 15 Mtpa by 2030.
• TotalEnergies shall acquire a 17.5% interest in NextDecade in three tranches for a global amount of $219 million – the first tranche of 5,06% having already been acquired on June 13, 2023, for $40 million.
• TotalEnergies shall also have a right to participate in further phases of the project and in a carbon capture and storage project (CCS) planned by NextDecade to reduce the emissions generated by the project.
The first phase of RGLNG, whose final investment decision is expected in the coming weeks for start-up in 2027, will be developed, besides TotalEnergies, by NextDecade as shareholder and operator and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) as majority shareholder. The project has already received all the necessary authorizations from FERC, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
TotalEnergies is the world’s third largest LNG player with a market share of around 12% and a global portfolio of about 50 Mt/y thanks to its interests in liquefaction plants in all geographies.
(Source: TotalEnergies – Artist’s view of NextDecade Rio Grande LNG terminal in Brownsville)