NextDecade Corp.’s recent decision to move ahead with the Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas came with a staggering $18.4 billion price tag that could ultimately rise further as five export projects are now underway along the Gulf Coast. 

The company crossed the finish line by completing what it said was the “largest greenfield energy project financing in U.S. history” for the first 17.6 million metric tons/year (mmty) phase of Rio Grande. 

Project costs were driven by a host of factors that have been exacerbated in the post-pandemic era, including inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages and a competitive market crowded with more than 20 proposed export projects in the United States alone. Similarly sized 15 mmty projects that came online in 2019, such as the...