Oct. 3, 2026 · Texas LNG has its buyers, its builder and its bank loans lined up. It still hasn't made the final call to build.

October 3, 2026 · Local economy · Series, part 4

Texas LNG has its buyers, its builder and its bank loans lined up. It still hasn't made the final call to build.

Shrimp boats heading down the Brownsville Ship Channel toward the Gulf, seen from the air — Shrimp boats head down the Brownsville Ship Channel toward the Gulf in 2014. Texas LNG would be built at the Port of Brownsville, on this channel. Photo: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Cameron County lists Texas LNG, the natural gas export terminal Glenfarne plans at the Port of Brownsville, at $2.8 billion on 625 acres. The company's own numbers are bigger: the bank loan package it put together to build the plant is $5.7 billion. That package also includes a working-capital and letter-of-credit line, so not all of it is construction cost, but it is about twice the county's figure.

Glenfarne describes Texas LNG as a 4 million tonne a year export terminal. Here is what it has lined up, from its own announcements:

Buyers: in January Glenfarne said every earlier preliminary deal had become a binding long-term contract. The buyers it names include EQT, RWE, Gunvor and Macquarie, and in April Glenfarne's own trading arm took 1.5 million tonnes a year, with EQT cutting its share to 0.5 million to make room.
Builder: Kiewit signed a lump-sum turnkey contract to engineer and build the plant in March. In July, Glenfarne gave Kiewit a limited notice to proceed covering long-lead equipment orders, engineering and ground work, the work "required to ready Texas LNG for full construction."
Money: the $5.7 billion bank package (January) and a $500 million investment led by HPS Investment Partners, part of BlackRock (July). Glenfarne called that investment "one of the final steps required for Texas LNG before achieving Final Investment Decision."

The catch: none of that is a final investment decision, the point where a company commits to full construction. Glenfarne said it was on schedule for one in "early 2026" in January, then, by March, the second quarter. The second quarter ended June 30 with no decision announced. Its newsroom shows none announced as of this morning; its latest Texas LNG news is the July 13 investment. Rio Grande LNG, at the same port, made its decision in 2023 and is now well into construction.

Why it matters here: the county ties Texas LNG to its $16 million Port Connector Road project, and the company says its first LNG would come "around 2030." Until the final decision, those dates are plans, not a construction schedule.

Next in the series: SpaceX's Starbase, which the county puts at $3.5 billion in investment and $13.5 billion in economic impact.

Sources: Glenfarne, $5.7 billion bank group, Jan. 30, 2026 · Glenfarne, RWE contract, Jan. 15, 2026 · Glenfarne, second-quarter target, March 19, 2026 · Glenfarne, buyers and second-quarter target, April 2026 · Glenfarne, Kiewit notice to proceed, July 2, 2026 · Glenfarne, HPS investment, July 13, 2026 · Glenfarne newsroom · Cameron County Economic Development, Sept. 28 · DHS photo

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