Bipartisan support for LNG export facility in Rio Grande Valley at Brownsville port

Fuel Fix:

Although their political parties are on the opposite ends of the climate change debate and other issues on Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner have found one topic to agree on.

The Republican senator and Democrat mayor have become unlikely and bipartisan allies in their support of a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal and pipeline project that face stiff opposition from environmentalists and community groups in the Rio Grande Valley.

Over the past week, Cornyn and Turner have filed open letters to members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to voice their support for NextDecade Corp.'s Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville. The proposed project includes a pipeline that will move natural gas from the Agua Dulce hub near Corpus Christi to the deep South Texas waterway.

Cornyn primarily cited economic reasons for his support of the project. NextDecade recently moved its headquarters from The Woodlands to downtown Houston and if the projects are approved, the company will spend up to $20 billion to build them.

"FERC's final approval of this project will unleash the additional natural gas export potential of the U.S. and the State of Texas, driving significant economic, energy, trade and environmental benefits for generations to come," Cornyn wrote.

Turner cited different reasons. Months before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Turner had already joined the Climate Mayors movement. The 300 U.S. mayors have pledged to uphold the terms of the Paris Climate Agreement even though President Donald Trump has vowed to pull the United States out of the international treaty. In his letter, Turner wrote that the Houston-based company will deliver long-term economic and environmental benefits.

"Next Decade's Rio Grande LNG project will enable developed and emerging markets around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing carbon-intensive fuels with natural and other forms of cleaner energy," Turner wrote in his letter. "The project will also provide energy producers across the State of Texas an important link to global markets and an opportunity to reduce wasteful flaring of valuable energy resources into the atmosphere."
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It would give the Lower Rio Grande Valley a stake in the energy boom and provide jobs for an area that has not seen as much dynamic growth as other areas of Texas.  Adding an additional export facility for Texas should help diversify the Texas economy.