NextDecade has secured $3 billion in equity commitments from TotalEnergies and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to finance the construction of the fourth LNG train at its Rio Grande LNG export plant in Brownsville, Texas.
Under the terms of the deals revealed in a recent 8-K filing, TotalEnergies will contribute $300 million in return for a 10% stake in the new train, while a GIP subsidiary agreed to pay up to $1.5 billion for a 50% stake which will fall to 30% once certain condition are met. Through its subsidiaries, NextDecade will contribute up to $1.2 billion for a 40% stake, which could rise to 60% once GIP reaches agreed, but unspecified, returns.
Closing of the financial agreements is subject to conditions, including no material changes related to the Train 4 project and approval of a final investment decision (FID).
In April, NextDecade completed the commercialization of Train 4 with the signing of a 20-year LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Aramco and TotalEnergies. The pair joined ADNOC as the long-term customers supporting Train 4.
NextDecade boss Matt Schatzman told investors in early August that he expected the company to take FID on Train 4 by mid-September.
Rio Grande LNG Train 5 is hot on Train 4’s heels. The company also recently signed its first long-term offtake agreement with JERA for the plant’s Train 5, along with an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with Bechtel.
“We continue to work on contracting an additional 2.5 mtpa under long-term SPAs to support a positive FID on Train 5,” said Schatzman. “We have started the financing process for Train 5 and, subject to obtaining appropriate commercial support and financing, we are targeting FID of Train 5 in mid-September 2025.”
The Rio Grande LNG facility has been permitted by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and authorized by the US Department of Energy to export up to 27 mtpa of LNG. Phase 1 at the Rio Grande LNG facility is under construction. While Trains 4 and 5 are progressing toward FID, the company is developing and beginning the permitting process for Trains 6 through 8.
