Army Corps Approves Rio Grande LNG Expansion Amid Alaska Investment Talks

NextDecade has secured approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for an additional liquefaction unit at its Rio Grande LNG export facility in Texas.

The sixth train will have a planned capacity of 5.9 million metric tons per annum and is expected to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of next year, supporting production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Agua Dulce gas market hub.

This expansion helps ensure energy dominance for the United States, according to the Army Corps, which has awarded a permit to NextDecade for the project. The facility is currently under construction on a 984-acre site that will also support production of LNG with feed gas from the Permian and Eagle Ford shale basins.

President Trump is touting investment in another major LNG project in Alaska, which would have a peak design capacity of 500 million cubic feet of gas per day. The potential investments in this project could reach $54 billion, more than double the total investment value for the Sabine Pass terminal, the largest U.S. terminal by volume.