NextDecade delivers on green Rio Grande promises
US LNG exporter NextDecade said April 19 that it had teamed up with environmental reporting group Project Canary to monitor the greenhouse gas intensity of LNG sold from the Rio Grande export facility, from wellhead to ship.
The pilot project, the first in the global LNG industry, will see Project Canary utilise its TrustWell certification system to ensure that every part of the natural gas supply chain realises its low-emission targets and meets the highest environmental standards.
“This partnership will enable the development of a responsibly sourced natural gas supply chain from leading producers in the Permian basin and Eagle Ford shale and independent, third-party certification of the GHG intensity of LNG,” the companies explained.
NextDecade anticipates taking a final investment decision on its 27mn mt/yr Rio Grande LNG plant at the Port of Brownsville in Texas later this year. Touted as a low-carbon, green option, NextDecade has made a series of strides to ensure its goals are achieved.
A subsidiary of NextDecade announced last month it was leading development efforts to build what it said would be among the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in North America at Rio Grande.
Last week, NextDecade signed an engineering services agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to utilise a proprietary process developed by the Japanese company that uses a specialised solvent to help facilitate CO2 recovery at Rio Grande.
The CCS project could cut CO2 emissions by more than 90% without any major design changes. Costs associated with developing the liquefaction facility at the same time as the CCS facility could be as much as 80% lower than retrofitting the entire project once it is in service.