By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PRESS
The South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce hosted a “Coffee and Conversation” with guest speakers from NextDecade, Rio Grande LNG and their Project Management partner, Bechtel.
The presentation began with a video explaining what exactly Liquified Natural Gas [LNG] is: natural gas is
liquified to -260 degrees Fahrenheit.
Andrea Benton, head of Community Relations at NextDecade, said one of LNG’s main goals is to hire “as many locals as possible.” Benton says that initially, Bechtel had 35% of its workforce come from the Rio Grande Valley [RGV]. According to Benton, 70% of its workforce is comprised of RGV natives.
Benton added that the current footprint for their RGV terminal is 761 acres. They have purchased over 4,000 acres of land for preservation and are working on a tortoise translocation project with Texas A&M Kingsville. As part of this project, they collected any tortoises found at their RGV construction site for the location and sent them to a separate area for research and sanctuary. Benton reported the research found the tortoises were social creatures, and were “content with their current location,” but are being slowly released. Benton also added that there is a “no-kill policy” on-site for all animals. “Even if there’s a tarantula or a snake, they’re just moved to the side and work continues,” said Benton.
According to Benton, LNG ensures consistent engagement with their stakeholders, asking groups from across the Valley to join their community advisory board. “When we ask people to join our community advisory board, we tell them ‘You don’t have to support our project. That’s the purpose of the community advisory board. It’s the channel of engagement with the community,’” said Benton. There are over 30 members on the board.
On Feb. 13, an open house will be held at the Brownsville event, providing information for those wanting to work with NextDecade.
According to Benton, currently, Bechtel is planning on constructing five trains for their operations and deepening the channel at the Port of Brownsville. Benton says each train will put out at least 400 jobs, with an average salary of $100,000.
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