NextDecade enters $62.5M credit deal as work on Rio Grande LNG progresses
NextDecade enters $62.5M credit deal as work on Rio Grande LNG progresses - Offshore Energy
NextDecade enters $62.5M credit deal as work on Rio Grande LNG progresses
NextDecade LNG, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S.-based energy company NextDecade, has made a credit agreement with MUFG Bank, as lender and administrative agent that provides for a $50 million senior secured revolving credit facility and a $12.5 million interest term loan to be utilized, among other things, for development costs related to Train 4 at the Rio Grande LNG facility in Texas.
Specifically, the borrowings under the revolving credit facility may be utilized for general corporate purposes, including development costs related to Train 4 at the Rio Grande LNG facility, while the borrowings under the interest term loan may be utilized to pay interest expense, fees and other expenses related to the revolving credit facility, NextDecade said.
The revolving credit facility and the interest term loan mature at the earlier of two years from the closing date or 10 business days after a positive final investment decision (FID) on Train 4 at the Rio Grande LNG facility, NextDecade noted, adding that it expects the revolving credit facility to provide meaningful liquidity and capital resources as the company progresses toward a positive FID of Train 4.
NextDecade has started the front-end engineering and design (FEED) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract processes with U.S. company Bechtel Energy for Train 4, and is said to be in discussions with potential buyers of LNG to provide commercial support for this train. A positive FID of Train 4 is targeted for the second half of 2024.
To remind, at the end of 2023, Switzerland-based technology company ABB secured an order to deliver integrated automation, electrical and digital solutions for Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG facility.
This phase includes three liquefaction trains and supporting infrastructure., and its FID was reached in July 2023. The construction officially started in October 2023.
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Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.