Abu Dhabi's XRG raises Rio Grande LNG project stake

Abu Dhabi's state-owned energy company, XRG, announced on Monday that it was buying an additional 7.6% stake in two liquefied natural gas trains in the Rio Grande LNG Project in Texas. This investment will deepen its involvement in the largest export facility in the world.

XRG announced that it is acquiring the stakes in Trains 4 & 5 from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a company which has now been absorbed by BlackRock. The deal is a further addition to XRG's indirect 11.7% stake in the 'project's first 3 trains' at the Port of Brownsville, which was also acquired through GIP.

XRG announced that trains 4 and 5 have a combined LNG production capacity of 6 million metric tonnes per year and have long-term agreements with buyers who have high credit ratings.

By increasing our presence in U.S.LNG, we are strengthening an resilient, global scaled gas platform, while?deepening further the UAE-U.S. energy partnership. "We are announcing a new energy partnership,"?said Mohamed Al Aryani. President of XRG International Gas.

The financial terms of the deal were not revealed. It is still subject to approvals by regulatory authorities and other customary conditions. Reporting by Hadeel al Sayegh, Editing by Alexander Smith

(source: Reuters)