TotalEnergies has reached a final investment decision with its partners to move forward with the development of Train 4 at the Rio Grande LNG plant in South Texas. The company signed agreements with NextDecade to acquire a 10% direct stake in the joint venture responsible for this expansion. In addition, TotalEnergies will hold an indirect interest of nearly 7% through its 17.1% shareholding in NextDecade.
Alongside TotalEnergies and NextDecade, other partners involved in the project include Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) with a 36.9% stake, GIC holding 7.9%, and Mubadala with 5.2%. The fourth train is expected to add about six million tons per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas capacity, increasing the plant’s total output to around 24 Mtpa when it becomes operational in 2030. The financing structure for this phase consists of approximately 40% equity and 60% debt.
Stéphane Michel, President of Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies, stated: “We are very pleased with the FID of RGLNG Train 4. This project from which we will offtake 1.5 Mtpa strengthens our LNG export capacity from the United States. It gives TotalEnergies access to competitive LNG thanks to its low production costs. The LNG from this fourth train will increase TotalEnergies’ U.S. LNG export capacity to over 16 Mtpa by 2030, further enhancing our ability to contribute to gas supply and building on our 10% market share worldwide.”
Matt Schatzman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NextDecade, commented: “We are pleased to have TotalEnergies, our largest LNG customer and equity partner for Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG, extend their commitment to our project through Train 4. LNG exported by TotalEnergies from our project will provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy to customers around the world.”
TotalEnergies has also entered into a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with NextDecade for the long-term purchase—over twenty years—of up to 1.5 Mtpa from Train 4 once it comes online. Currently, TotalEnergies holds a stake of about 16.7% in Phase 1 of Rio Grande LNG—which comprises three trains under construction—and is set to begin operations in South Texas by 2027.
Globally, TotalEnergies ranks as the third-largest player in liquefied natural gas as measured by portfolio size—reaching roughly forty million tons per year as of 2024 due largely to interests across various geographies’ liquefaction plants—and maintains integrated activities spanning production through regasification and trading.
The company aims for natural gas sales—including efforts such as those at Rio Grande—to make up nearly half its overall energy mix by 2030 while working toward lower carbon emissions throughout its operations.
TotalEnergies operates worldwide across oil products, biofuels, natural gas including biogas and hydrogen solutions along with renewables; it employs more than one hundred thousand people across approximately one hundred twenty countries.
