NextDecade Corporation NEXT recently inked a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with TotalEnergies Gas & Power North America, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE TTE. Per the terms of the agreement, TotalEnergies will purchase 1.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG for 20 years on a free-on-board basis at a price indexed to the Henry Hub’s benchmark price.

Since TotalEnergies has been a major contributor to the success of Rio Grande LNG Phase 1, NEXT is pleased to expand its partnership with TTE through the execution of this Train 4 agreement.

Rio Grande LNG is the largest privately funded LNG project in Texas, situated on a 984-acre site at the Port of Brownsville. The project benefits from its proximity to the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale, ensuring a steady supply of natural gas with minimal weather disruptions compared to other locations on the Gulf Coast. For investors, the growth in NEXT’s sale and purchase agreements is of utmost importance as it directly supports a positive FID, leading to faster completion of the project. As NEXT secures new agreements, its near-term outlook gets bolstered, creating a positive trajectory for the company and its stakeholders.

A Step Toward a Positive Final Investment Decision

With this latest sale and purchase agreement, NextDecade, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has secured a total of 4.6 MTPA in long-term contracts for Train 4. This deal includes NEXT’s supply agreement with companies such as Saudi Aramco. It believes that these commercial supports are sufficient for it to achieve a positive Final Investment Decision on Train 4.

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What’s Next?

For TotalEnergies, which currently exports over 10 MTPA from the entire United States and aims to scale that to 15 MTPA by 2030, this deal will act as a step toward achieving its goal.

While NEXT’s Rio Grande LNG project has faced its share of delays, with the first train expected to be completed by 2027, the commitment from TotalEnergies signals strong momentum.

With sufficient commercial support now in place, NextDecade is prioritizing the financial and logistical groundwork needed to bring Train 4 online. If successful, this phase could be a turning point for NextDecade and the broader LNG market.

Key Picks

Investors interested in the energy sector might look at some top-ranked stocks like Archrock, Inc. AROC and Delek Logistics Partners, LP DKL.

Story Continues

Houston-based Archrock is a provider of natural gas contract compression services as well as a supplier of aftermarket services for compression equipment. AROC operates in the oil- and gas-producing regions primarily in the United States. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AROC’s 2025 earnings indicates 56.19% year-over-year growth.

Delek Logistics Partners owns, operates, acquires and constructs crude oil and refined products logistics and marketing assets. DKL operates crude oil transportation pipelines, refined product pipelines, crude oil gathering systems and associated crude oil storage tanks. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DKL’s 2025 earnings indicates 34.45% year-over-year growth.

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