Rio Grande LNG announces positive final investment for construction - KVEO-TV
Rio Grande LNG announces positive final investment for construction
BROWNSVILLE, Texas ( ValleyCentral) — The anticipated liquified natural gas export facility, Rio Grande LNG, announced Wednesday that they are ready to move forward with construction.
The corporation said they are excited to get started but at least one local organization in opposition of the project.
NextDecade Corporation said they made a positive final investment decision to construct the first phase of their facility at the Port of Brownsville.
The 984-acre and multi-billion-dollar project is set to be the largest green field project financing in United State history.
In a statement, Susan Richardson, the senior director of communications for NextDecade said:
“Today is an exciting day for the Rio Grande Valley and the State of Texas. The Rio Grande LNG project will benefit current and future generations by creating an estimated 5,000 well-paying jobs during peak construction, 35% or more of which will come from the local community.”
According to NextDecade, the project will bring millions of dollars in economic benefit to the local community.
The Rio Grande LNG project has received opposition for the past nine years from organizations advocating for the environment and community surrounding the proposed facility.
“We think it’s really a terrible thing for the valley and there really is no, other than construction jobs, once those are gone, there is no upside, it’s just harm,” Jim Chapman, a board member for Save RGV said.
Save RGV is a local non-profit that has been working to educate the community on what they say is a concerning project.
“There’s going to be a tremendous amount of noise. There’s going to be an enormous amount of small particulate pollution, you’re going to have a huge amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere and this is all going to be immediately across from a national wildlife refuge,” Chapman said.
However NextDecade said they have plans to help with education and conservation.
“We will be a long-term partner with the RGV community, and we’re committed to supporting the next generation through education initiatives and our plans to conserve more than 4,000 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley, including significant acreage in Las Lomas, local wetlands, thorn scrubs, and ocelot habitats underscore our commitment to protecting the environment. The achievement of a positive financial investment decision on the first three liquefaction trains at Rio Grande LNG is truly a landmark event,” said Richardson.
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.