by David Keane
September 15, 2023
TEXAS COMPANY INVESTS $18.4 BILLION IN RIO GRANDE LNG FACILITY IN BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS CITING STRATEGIC LOCATION AND ACCESS TO GAS SUPPLY.
Brownsville, Texas, December 16, 2023 –NextDecade is making a significant investment in Brownsville, Texas. What caused us to invest here and what are some of the strategic benefits of that
NextDecade is investing $18.4 billion in our phase one of our Rio Grande LNG facility. It’s the largest private investment in a greenfield energy project in US history. That’s just for phase one. Phase two will be down the road.
The #1 reason we chose Brownsville is for it’s strategic location. It has a deepwater port, and easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and to world markets. It also has easy access to gas supply out of the Permian Basin and out of the Eagle Ford shale. With this, we are not constrained in getting a gas supply – similar to some of the plants in Louisiana.
Another reason is workforce. There is a large population of people that really want jobs in the Rio Grande Valley. I was asked by some bankers a couple of weeks ago “what is the most consistent issue you I hear about”? I said, I’m not trying to be facetious, the environment is a big issue and making sure we’re managing that, but the most significant issue I hear about is where are the jobs and when are they starting? If you look at the Rio Grande Valley, it has the highest unemployment rate in Texas. But what’s more concerning is that it has one of the higher underemployment rates, not only the state of Texas, but in the United States. Many people have to have two or three jobs just to make ends meet.
Our facility during construction, will have a peak workforce of 5,000 people. During operations, which will go on for 40, 50, 60 years, will bring roughly 350 to 400 long term well paying jobs. NextDecade will be a game changer for the region.
