US regulators Issue Preliminary Environmental Support for Rio Grande LNG

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a preliminary decision on Friday supporting environmental approval for NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in southern Texas.

In August, a Washington, D.C. Circuit court quashed the regulator’s approval for the plant at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, saying it failed to issue a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on how communities will be affected and ordered it to publish one for public comment.

The comment period for the draft statement ends on May 19, FERC said.

NextDecade has continued constructing the plant and in 2027 is expected to expand LNG capacity that will help the U.S. remain the world’s leading exporter of the superchilled gas.

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared an energy emergency and laid out a sweeping plan to maximize oil and gas production.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Richard Chang)