GLNG: Rio Grande LNG suffers another setback with Societe Generale withdrawal

French bank Societe Generale revealed on March 28 that it pulled out of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in Texas last year. It marks the first time the financial institution has disclosed that it withdrew from the long-delayed LNG facility to be developed in the Port of Brownsville.

Without referencing the decision on Rio Grande LNG, a Societe Generale representative speaking with Reuters highlighted the bank’s climate commitments, which include ending all LNG financing where the facility is not aligned with Societe Generale’s human rights and environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

In 2021, the bank announced it was committed to stopping financing American LNG projects with the exception of its pre-existing support for Rio Grande LNG, which NextDecade says offers carbon emissions reduction of over 90% through planned carbon capture and storage (CCS) that will capture and permanently store over 5mn tonnes per year (tpy) of carbon dioxide.

The announcement by Societe Generale could help explain why NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG terminal, which is planned to have five liquefaction trains and a nameplate capacity of 27mn tpy of low carbon intensive LNG, has struggled to move ahead.