ExxonMobil signs up for LNG from Next Decade
The deal continues the trend of developers making long-term agreements to start in the second half of this decade and is another milestone for the Rio Grande project
ExxonMobil has signed a 20-year SPA with Nasdaq-listed producer Next Decade to buy 1mn t/yr of LNG, with the gas to be supplied from the first two trains of the Rio Grande liquefaction project in Brownsville, Texas. Next Decade expects the first train of Rio Grande to begin commercial operations “as early as 2026”. The company anticipates making “a positive FID on up to three trains” at the project in the second half of this year, “assuming the achievement of further LNG contracting and financing”, the company says. FIDs on the development’s two other trains will “follow thereafter”, the company adds. Rio Grande is planned as a 27mn t/yr facility, and Next Decade has already secured SPAs wor
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






