As construction of the first phase gets underway in South Texas near the Mexico border, NextDecade Corp. is looking to finalize plans by mid-2024 to expand its Rio Grande LNG export project.

The Houston-based firm broke ground in Brownsville on the first three trains of the facility last month, which could add 17.6 million metric tons/year (mmty) of export capacity to the global market by 2027. NextDecade reached a final investment decision (FID) on Rio Grande LNG in July after securing $18.4 billion in financing, making it the largest greenfield energy project financing to date.

In a third quarter business update, the firm noted that it had already started the process of front-end engineering and design (FEED) and securing engineering procurement and construction (EPC) for a...