BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 10. TotalEnergies has strengthened its position in U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports by signing agreements with NextDecade to acquire a 10% stake in the joint venture developing Train 4 of the Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas, Trend reports.
Through its 17.1% shareholding in NextDecade, the French energy company will hold an additional indirect stake of nearly 7% in the project.
Alongside NextDecade (40%), Global Infrastructure Partners (36.9%), GIC (7.9%), and Mubadala (5.2%), TotalEnergies has also joined in taking the Final Investment Decision (FID) on Train 4.
With a planned capacity of about 6 million tons per annum (Mtpa), Train 4 will lift Rio Grande LNG’s total production capacity to around 24 Mtpa when it becomes operational in 2030. The development will be financed through a mix of approximately 40% equity and 60% debt.
“This project from which we will offtake 1.5 Mtpa strengthens our LNG export capacity from the United States,” said Stéphane Michel, President of Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies. “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.”
NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman welcomed the development, noting TotalEnergies’ continued support: “We are pleased to have TotalEnergies, our largest LNG customer and equity partner for Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG, extend their commitment to our project through Train 4.”
TotalEnergies is already a partner in Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG, holding a 16.7% interest and committed to offtake 5.4 Mtpa of LNG. Phase 1, which includes three trains currently under construction, is expected to begin operations in 2027.