Rio Grande LNG recently announced a major milestone that puts the project on track to receive federal authorization in July 2019 to proceed with construction.
This timing is based on the Notice of Schedule released August 31, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency that reviews and permits all liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in the U.S.
This Notice of Schedule sets the dates for the final steps that will bring this project to its ultimate goal – construction and commercial operations. According to the Perryman Group, an independent economic and financial analysis firm, this LNG export facility and associated natural gas pipeline, will bring 4,000-6,000 jobs to the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Rio Grande LNG began the rigorous federal permitting process in 2015 with a pre-filing phase, during which the company held open houses at multiple locations in Cameron County. Since then, the project has gone through extensive review by the public and a dozen federal, state and local governmental agencies.
The next major milestone is in October when FERC plans to release the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), triggering a public comment period. After further review, FERC is scheduled to release the final EIS in April 2019.
NextDecade Corporation, the Houston-based company developing the project, expects to announce contracts in the first half of 2019 with customers who will buy LNG from Rio Grande LNG once commercial operations begin.
NextDecade previously completed front-end engineering and design for the project and expects to finalize a construction contract in 2019, prior to a final investment decision moving the project forward.
NextDecade recently announced a competitive bid process to select an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor with the technical and financial strength to safely deliver the project on-time and on-budget.