TotalEnergies has signed agreements with NextDecade to acquire a 10% direct stake in the joint venture developing Train 4 of the Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas.
In addition, through its 17.1% ownership in NextDecade, TotalEnergies will indirectly hold close to 7% of Train 4.
TotalEnergies, NextDecade (40%), Global Infrastructure Partners (36.9%), GIC (7.9%) and Mubadala (5.2%) have jointly reached a Final Investment Decision to move forward with the development.
Train 4 will have an annual capacity of about 6 million tons, increasing Rio Grande LNG’s overall capacity to around 24 million tons when operations begin in 2030.
The project will be financed with about 40% equity and 60% debt.
Stéphane Michel, President of Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies, said: “We are very pleased with the FID of RGLNG Train 4. This project from which we will offtake 1.5 Mtpa strengthens our LNG export capacity from the United States. It gives TotalEnergies access to competitive LNG thanks to its low production costs. The LNG from this fourth train will increase TotalEnergies’ U.S. LNG export capacity to over 16 Mtpa by 2030, further enhancing our ability to contribute to gas supply and building on our 10% market share worldwide.”
TotalEnergies had previously signed a 20-year Sales and Purchase Agreement with NextDecade for 1.5 million tons per year from Train 4. The company also holds a 16.7% stake in Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG, which consists of three trains under construction in South Texas and expected to begin operations in 2027, with TotalEnergies set to offtake 5.4 Mtpa.
TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy company headquartered in Paris and incorporated as a European public limited company (Societas Europaea). It operates across the oil, gas, renewables, and electricity sectors and is listed on Euronext Paris, the New York Stock Exchange, and other major exchanges.