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NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman said the company will pursue all potential remedies following an Aug. 6 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate permits for its Rio Grande LNG project.
In a single ruling, the court halted NextDecade’s project and Glenfarne’s Texas LNG development, both of which are both on the Brownsville Shipping Channel in South Texas.
In its decision, the court faulted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for not considering “public interest” in the permitting process related to greenhouse-gas releases, among other issues.
The court remanded the projects back to FERC for further consideration.
Related: NextDecade Raises ‘Going Concern’ Doubts Amid Rio Grande LNG FID
Schatzman said the decision by the D.C. Circuit Court has “far-reaching implications.”
“If the ruling stands, the precedent that would be set by the court’s action has the potential to impact viability of all federally permitted infrastructure projects because it will be difficult for these projects to attract capital investments until they receive final unappealable permits,” Schatzman said in an Aug. 14 business update.
Schatzman said NextDecade didn’t agree with the decision and is committed to “taking any and all available legal and regulatory actions to ensure that Phase 1 will be delivered on time and on budget and that FID [final investment decision] of Trains 4 and 5 will not be unduly delayed.”
Schatzman also said the company has made recent strides toward achieving its dual goals of constructing Phase 1 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility safely, on schedule, and on budget and progressing the Train 4 expansion toward a positive FID.
NextDecade estimates total project costs to be $6 billion to $6.2 billion for Train 4 and related infrastructure, in line with the per train cost of the three-train Phase 1 at the Rio Grande LNG facility. Just before the court’s decision, the company executed a $4.3 billion lump-sum, turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract with Bechtel.
“Construction of Phase 1 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility continues to progress very positively,” Schatzman said. “We are committed to working with Bechtel to ensure a safe and timely delivery of Phase 1. As we work through the impacts of the recent Court decision, we are committed to continuing construction on Phase 1 and progressing the development of Train 4 by securing financing and ultimately reaching a positive FID, once necessary regulatory resolution is in place.”
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