US LNG firm NextDecade, the developer of the Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, has appointed Tarik Skeik as its new chief operating officer (COO).
In this role, Skeik will report to the chairman and CEO, Matt Schatzman, and further enhance the management team, as NextDecade works to deliver the first phase of the Rio Grande LNG project and reach positive final investment decisions on RGLNG trains 4 and 5, the company said.
Before his appointment as the COO of NextDecade, Skeik was a global project executive at ExxonMobil where he worked since 2011.
Skeik has over 20 years of experience delivering global complex mega projects in LNG, oil and petrochemicals across North America, the Middle East and Asia, according to NextDecade.
Besides the final investment decision on the first three Rio Grande trains, NextDecade also last year completed $18.4 billion project financing and it awarded the $12 billion EPC contract to Bechtel.
The firm also closed a joint venture agreement for the first phase which included about $5.9 billion of financial commitments from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), GIC, Mubadala, and TotalEnergies.
Phase 1, with nameplate liquefaction capacity of 17.6 mtpa, has 16.2 mtpa of long-term binding LNG sale and purchase agreements.
These include deals with TotalEnergies, Shell, ENN, Engie, ExxonMobil, Guangdong Energy Group, China Gas Hongda Energy Trading, Galp, and also Itochu.
Including trains 4 and 5, the Rio Grande LNG facility would have a capacity of 27 mtpa.
NextDecade is targeting FID for train 4 in the second half of 2024.