France-based TotalEnergies has announced that it has agreed to take a 10% direct interest in a joint venture for exporting US liquified natural gas (LNG).
The venture involves developing a fourth train at the Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) plant in South Texas. The firm will buy the stake from NextDecade, which still holds a 40% interest in the project. Combined with its indirect interest as a shareholder of NextDecade, TotalEnergies will have a total 17% interest in the project. All the involved parties also made the final investment decision (FID) to move forward with the project, which will take the plant’s export capacity to 24 million tons per annum (Mtpa).
TotalEnergies, which makes the Total metalworking and coolant range, is the world’s third-largest player in the LNG market. This fuel has become increasingly important for meeting the energy needs of the UK and wider European region in recent years. TotalEnergies’ president for gas, Stéphane Michel, 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.”
He added that by 2030, the new train will raise the company’s capacity to export LNG from the US to more than 16 Mtpa. This will add to its current 10% share of the global market and bolster its ability to supply natural gas and meet the world’s energy needs.
