NextDecade Corp.’s Rio Grande LNG project has cleared a major hurdle that opens a clearer path to reaching a final investment decision (FID) after FERC reaffirmed its approval for the facility and an associated pipeline in a long-awaited order issued late Thursday. 

In a 3-1 vote, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found its 2019 approvals for the Rio Grande project, along with the Rio Bravo Pipeline and the Texas liquefied natural gas export project, are in the public’s interest and can move ahead. The decision came 18 months after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the Commission to review its authorizations for the South Texas projects.

The 27 million metric tons/year (mmty) Rio Grande facility is among a coterie of U.S. export...