Baker Hughes picked to work on making Texas LNG terminal ‘one of the largest’ in the world

Houston-headquartered energy player NextDecade Corporation has inked two deals with compatriot energy technology giant Baker Hughes–a framework agreement for the latter to work on the former’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal under development in Texas and a contractual services agreement for maintenance of the trains at the future facility.

Under the first deal, Baker Hughes is set to provide gas turbine and refrigerant compressor technology for the Rio Grande LNG facility, while the second entails performing maintenance work related to this equipment for trains 4–8 at the terminal.

“Utilizing Baker Hughes’ industry-leading rotating equipment and their maintenance services is critical to ensuring the Rio Grande LNG Facility operates efficiently and reliably,” said Matt Schatzman, Chairman and CEO of NextDecade. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Baker Hughes as we progress our plans to make the Rio Grande LNG Facility one of the largest LNG production and export facilities in the world.”

The export terminal under construction at the Port of Brownsville, Texas was originally envisaged to have a capacity of 27 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), but this is set to increase with the addition of new trains.

NextDecade says it is making excellent progress on commercializing Rio Grande LNG Trains 4 and 5. The company expects to make positive final investment decisions and start construction on the tow trains and related infrastructure once certain conditions are met.

These include governmental approvals, finalizing and entering into EPC contracts, entering into appropriate commercial arrangements, and obtaining adequate financing to construct each train and related infrastructure. The latter was partly secured thanks to a recent credit agreement with General Atlantic Credit’s Atlantic Park Fund.

As for Trains 6 through 8, NextDecade claims to be developing the two trains and starting the permitting process. They are cumulatively expected to increase the firm’s total liquefaction capacity by around 18 mtpa once constructed and operational, bringing the facility’s total to approximately 48 mtpa.

Additionally, at the beginning of March, the U.S. firm said that there is sufficient space at the site for the development of up to ten total liquefaction trains, thanks to the site’s location to abundant natural gas resources in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale, access to an uncongested waterway, and fewer and less severe weather events than other U.S. Gulf Coast areas.