Days after receiving its final clearance from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the Rio Grande LNG project, NextDecade and gas giant EQT signed a sales and purchase agreement for 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

According to the agreement announced Sept. 3, EQT agreed to the 20-year deal for LNG manufactured from the proposed facility’s Train 5. The price will be indexed to the Henry Hub and is subject to NextDecade reaching a final investment decision (FID) on the train.

“We have made great strides in the commercialization of Rio Grande LNG Train 5, and today we are announcing a long-term SPA with EQT, one of the largest producers of natural gas in the United States,” said Matt Schatzman, NextDecade Chairman and CEO.

EQT CEO Toby Rice said the agreement is part of the company’s LNG strategy. EQT is diversifying the company’s end-market exposure and plans to market its own cargos.

“We believe the rapidly growing international market will increasingly covet EQT’s gas supply to advance economic growth, while replicating America’s leading emission reduction progress through the replacement of coal with clean-burning natural gas,” Rice said.

NextDecade has announced deals accounting for 3.5 mtpa of Train 5 production, and the company has targeted an FID before the end of 2025. The Train 5 project is expected to cost around $6.7 billion. NextDecade expects to reach FID on Train 4 before the end of September.

Rio Grande LNG reached an FID for its first production train in 2023. The Phase 1 project, located in Brownsville, Texas, includes three trains, with an expected production start date in 2027. At full capacity, the first phase will have a capacity of 18 mtpa. Trains 4 and 5 will add another 12 mtpa.

Phase 1 is under construction. The company recently cleared a legal challenge from 2024 that attempted to halt the project.

Environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. District, to revoke the FERC’s approval of the project. In July 2024, the court demanded a supplemental environmental impact study for the project, as well as Glenfarne’s Texas LNG project in the same city.  

The permits were held up until the arrival of President Donald Trump’s administration, which has encouraged the development of LNG throughout the U.S.

The FERC re-issued Texas LNG’s environmental statement on Aug. 21.

Rio Grande LNG’s statement was issued on Aug. 29.