NextDecade, the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export plant in Texas, has agreed to supply more liquefied natural gas to Chinese independent gas distributor ENN as part of a new deal revealed on Tuesday.
Under the 20-year sales and purchase deal, ENN LNG (Singapore), a wholly-owned unit of ENN Natural Gas, will now buy 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, according to a statement by NextDecade.
This is a 0.5 mtpa increase from the original 1.5 mtpa SPA announced earlier this year.
All volumes of LNG are indexed to Henry Hub and would be supplied from the first three trains at Rio Grande LNG on a free-on-board basis.
FID in Q1 2023
NextDecade confirmed it is currently targeting a positive final investment decision (FID) on the first three trains of the LNG export project during the first quarter of 2023, with FIDs of its remaining trains to follow thereafter.
It previously planned to take the decision by the end of this year.
NextDecade and compatriot engineering and construction giant Bechtel are moving forward with early construction works to prepare the Rio Grande site located in the Port of Brownsville, Texas.
The full Rio Grande project would include five trains with a capacity of 27 mtpa.
Besides this contract, NextDecade this year signed LNG supply deals with Portugal’s Galp, compatriot ExxonMobil, China’s Guangdong Energy, China Gas, and France’s Engie.