FERC approves NextDecade’s request for more workers and longer hours at Texas site

HOUSTON, April 10 (Reuters) – U.S. federal regulators on Friday approved a request by NextDecade to increase the peak number of construction workers at its Rio Grande LNG project in Texas, according to a regulatory filing.

NextDecade told regulators that global geopolitical tensions had heightened demand for U.S. LNG, prompting developers to move quickly to bring new supply online.

The Iran war has led to global LNG supply challenges as the world’s second-largest producer, QatarEnergy, has not been able to export the superchilled gas and has suffered damage to its plant, potentially taking 12.5 million metric tons out of global supplies for up to five years.

In a separate filing dated last Friday, NextDecade asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to raise its peak construction workforce by 2,275 workers to 7,500, up from the previously authorized 5,225, as it moves to accelerate construction of the liquefied natural gas export terminal.

Federal regulators are required to approve increases in manpower at LNG construction sites to ensure the developers keep within the preapproved environmental conditions including the impact on the host communities.

The company said the decision to build two additional liquefaction trains at the site increased manpower needs and required approval for construction work to take place at night and on weekends.

FERC approved both the increase in construction workers and requests for round-the-clock construction, the filing showed.

NextDecade is building five liquefaction trains at Rio Grande LNG with a combined capacity of about 30 million metric tons per annum.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Matthew Lewis)