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- Permit ruling was meant to teach regulators a lesson, he says
- Yanking of Texas permits puts $18.4 billion project at risk
Bloomberg News
A federal court’s decision to scold a regulatory agency is putting a major Texas liquefied natural gas project — and thousands of associated jobs — at risk, said NextDecade Corp. Chief Executive Officer Matt Schatzman.
In August, the D.C. Circuit Court struck down NextDecade’s permit for its Rio Grande LNG project, along with the Texas LNG project, sending both back to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for more environmental review.
“The court wanted to wrist slap the commission and provide more process — and it’s our $18.4 billion project that’s put into jeopardy,” Schatzman said in an interview Monday.
The ruling marked the first time a permit was pulled for an LNG project under construction in the US. NextDecade is appealing the decision and is prepared to fight to the Supreme Court, Schatzman said.
Meanwhile, the company is moving forward with construction with the goal of supplying countries in Asia and Europe looking to transition away from dirtier fossil fuels. If the ruling is upheld, Schatzman said the project could be halted, jeopardizing as many as 5,000 jobs and contracts with companies including Shell Plc., TotalEnergies, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chinese companies ENN and China Gas, and European companies ENGIE and Galp.
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