ConocoPhillips, a Houston-based energy giant and one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, has signed a long-term deal to buy liquefied natural gas from the Rio Grande LNG export terminal planned at the Port of Brownsville — a commitment that would link South Texas directly to global energy markets once construction on the project’s next phase moves forward.

Deal tied to expansion plans

Under the 20-year agreement, ConocoPhillips would buy about 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas each year — roughly enough to power more than 1.4 million U.S. homes annually — once the project’s developer, NextDecade Corp., gives the green light to build Train 5, a proposed production unit that would expand the facility’s capacity beyond the first three trains already under construction.

That authorization, known as a final investment decision or FID, is made by NextDecade’s board of directors and determines when construction can begin. Each “train” at the site functions like a production line that cools natural gas into liquid form so it can be shipped overseas.

Federal approvals already in place

Federal regulators have already cleared the project.