NextDecade to fight appeals court delay to its LNG plant, says CEO
Rewrites throughout, adds background and context
By Curtis Williams
HOUSTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) -NextDecade NEXT.O will appeal this month a federal court ruling that overturned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of the initial phase of its $18.4 billion Rio Grande LNG project, CEO Matthew Schatzman said on Monday.
The company will take the legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, he added in an interview.
A D.C. Circuit court on Aug. 6 quashed the regulator's approval for its plant at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. It ordered FERC to reconsider the project impacts, which could require a new environmental impact statement and public comment period.
NextDecade does not expect the courts to stop the ongoing construction until a final ruling. But such delays can be the death of large infrastructure projects, Schatzman said.
"We are committed to taking any and all legal and regulatory actions to ensure that phase 1 will be delivered on time and on budget."
NextDecade's stock price has fallen 39% since the August decision by the federal appeals courtin Washington, D.C. Schatzman said the price decline reflectsadditional project risks caused by the court ruling.
NextDecade's flagship facility has been in development for several years and has already suffered repeated delays.
The first phase of the project, with a capacity of 17.61 million tons per annum of liquid gas, was scheduled to be completed by early 2029 at an estimated cost of $18 billion.
Schatzman said its customers remain committed to the project but are concerned about the ruling, and his management team has had regular updates with investors and customers.
The project is backed by Global Infrastructure Partners and French energy major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, among others. It has received purchase orders for about 92% of total capacity for the first two trains and 88% of the total for the third train, he said.
Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang
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