Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals has bagged engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts from NextDecade for the latter’s $9.565bn (£7.57bn) first phase of the Rio Grande LNG project in Texas.
Rio Grande LNG project phase 1 details
Phase 1 of the natural gas liquefaction and export facility to be built in Brownsville will comprise three liquefaction trains, two storage tanks of 180,000m3 capacity, and two marine berths. There is a possibility of accommodating an additional storage tank and LNG truck loading facilities under the phase 1 project.
Each of the liquefaction trains will have capacity of up to 5.87 million tons per annum (mtpa), which NextDecade says will result in an EPC cost of nearly $543 per ton.
Bechtel LNG general manager Darren Mort said: “Our LNG team is building on a proven track record of delivering world-class projects that help our customers bring an important energy source to the global economy.
“Our milestones are a testament to what the industry can accomplish with innovative approaches to technical challenges, and collaboration between owners, contractors, suppliers, and local communities.”
The Rio Grande LNG project, which is designed to have a total capacity of 27mtpa, is targeted to begin operations in 2023. The LNG export project will be supplied with natural gas produced from the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford Shale, and other resources.
The EPC contracts awarded to Bechtel covers full site preparation activities, which are likely to help in further reduction of the costs per ton of the remaining trains to less than the first phase cost. Apart from that, the EPC contracts will ensure that Bechtel will begin construction of the first phase with either two or three trains, said NextDecade.
NextDecade president and CEO Matt Schatzman said: “Bechtel’s extensive experience developing LNG projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast, along with our advantaged site and technology choices, including Air Products C3MR and Baker Hughes GE rotating equipment, is expected to enable NextDecade – in just the first three trains – to have the lowest cost per ton greenfield LNG project built on the U.S. Gulf Coast under a fully wrapped lump-sum turnkey EPC contract.”
