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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(MARK ONE)

x    ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 

2023

o    TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                    to                  

Commission File No. 001-36842

ND Knot.jpg
NEXTDECADE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

46-5723951

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1000 Louisiana Street,, Suite 3900

Houston, Texas77002

Houston, Texas

77002

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (713) 574-1880

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each Class:

Trading Symbol:

Name of each exchange on which registered:

Common stock $0.0001 par value

NEXTThe Nasdaq Stock Market LLCThe Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Redeemable Warrants, each to purchase one share of Company common stock

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  o  No  ☒ 

x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes  o   No ☒  

x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x   No  ☐  

o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes x     No  ☐  

o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

o

Accelerated filer

o

Non-accelerated filer

☒    

x

Smaller reporting company

x

Emerging growth company

o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.    

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐  No ☒

o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.     

o

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.o
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes o  No x
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $66.7$376.4 million as of June 30, 20202023 (based on the closing price of the registrant's common stock on June 30, 20202023 of $2.16$8.21 per share).

122,174,938

256,708,470 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock, $0.0001 par value, were outstanding as of March 18, 2021. 

4, 2024.

Documents incorporated by reference: ThePortions of the definitive proxy statement for the registrant's Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed within 120 days of the close of the registrant's fiscal year) isare incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.





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NEXTDECADE CORPORATION

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Organizational Structure

The following diagram depicts our abbreviated organizational structure as of December 31, 20202023 with references to the names of certain entities discussed in this Annual Report.

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Unless the context requires otherwise, references to “NextDecade,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to NextDecade Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations and economic performance, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “contemplate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “seek,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “can have,” “likely,” “continue,” “design”“design,” “assume,” “budget,” “forecast,” “target” and other words and terms of similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on assumptions and analysis made by us in light of our current expectations, perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Our future financial position and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties, including those described in the section entitledtitled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. You should consider our forward-looking statements in light of a number of factors that may cause actual results to vary from our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to:

our progress in the development of our liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) liquefaction and export projects and the timing of that progress;

our final investment decision (“FID”) in the construction and operation of a LNG terminal at the Port of Brownsville in southern Texas (the “Terminal”) and the timing of that decision;

the successful completion of the Terminal by third-party contractors and a pipeline to supply gas to the Terminal being developed by a third-party;

our ability to secure additional debt and equity financing in the future to complete the Terminal;

 the accuracy of estimated costs for the Terminal; 

statements that the Terminal, when completed, will have certain characteristics, including amounts of liquefaction capacities;

the development risks, operational hazards, regulatory approvals applicable to the Terminal’s and the third-party pipeline's construction and operations activities;

our anticipated competitive advantage and technological innovation which may render our anticipated competitive advantage obsolete;

the global demand for and price of natural gas (versus the price of imported LNG);

the availability of LNG vessels worldwide;

changes in legislation and regulations relating to the LNG industry, including environmental laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs and liabilities;

global pandemics, including the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, and their impact on our business and operating results, including any disruptions in our operations or development of the Terminal and the health and safety of our employees, and on our customers, the global economy and the demand for LNG;

risks related to doing business in and having counterparties in foreign countries;

 our ability to maintain the listing of our securities on a securities exchange or quotation medium; 

 changes adversely affecting the business in which we are engage; 

 management of growth; 

 general economic conditions; 

 our ability to generate cash; 

 compliance with environmental laws and regulations; and 

 the result of future financing efforts and applications for customary tax incentives. 

our progress in the development of our liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) liquefaction and export project and any carbon capture and storage projects we may develop (“CCS projects”) and the timing of that progress;
the timing and cost of the development, construction and operation of the first three liquefaction trains and related common facilities (“Phase 1”) of the multi-plant integrated natural gas and liquefaction and LNG export terminal facility to be located at the Port of Brownsville in southern Texas (the “Rio Grande LNG Facility”);
the availability and frequency of cash distributions available to us from our joint venture which owns Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility;
the timing and cost of the development of subsequent liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG Facility;
the ability to generate sufficient cash flow to satisfy Rio Grande's significant debt service obligations or to refinance such obligations ahead of their maturity;
restrictions imposed by NextDecade's or Rio Grande's debt agreements that limit flexibility in operating its business;
increases in interest rates increasing the cost of servicing Rio Grande's indebtedness;
our reliance on third-party contractors to successfully complete the Rio Grande LNG Facility, the pipeline to supply gas to the Rio Grande LNG Facility and any CCS projects we develop;
our ability to develop our NEXT Carbon Solutions business through implementation of our CCS projects;
our ability to secure additional debt and equity financing in the future to complete the Rio Grande LNG Facility and other CCS projects on commercially acceptable terms and to continue as a going concern;
the accuracy of estimated costs for the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects;
our ability to achieve operational characteristics of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects, when completed, including amounts of liquefaction capacities and amount of CO2 captured and stored, and any differences in such operational characteristics from our expectations;
the development risks, operational hazards and regulatory approvals applicable to our LNG and carbon capture and storage development, construction and operation activities and those of our third-party contractors and counterparties;
technological innovation which may lessen our anticipated competitive advantage or demand for our offerings;
the global demand for and price of LNG;
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the availability of LNG vessels worldwide;
changes in legislation and regulations relating to the LNG and carbon capture industries, including environmental laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs and liabilities;
scope of implementation of carbon pricing regimes aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
global development and maturation of emissions reduction credit markets;
adverse changes to existing or proposed carbon tax incentive regimes;
global pandemics, including the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the conflict in the Middle East, other sources of volatility in the energy markets and their impact on our business and operating results, including any disruptions in our operations or development of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and the health and safety of our employees, and on our customers, the global economy and the demand for LNG or carbon capture;
risks related to doing business in and having counterparties in foreign countries;
our ability to maintain the listing of our securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market or another securities exchange or quotation medium;
changes adversely affecting the businesses in which we are engaged;
management of growth;
general economic conditions, including inflation and rising interest rates;
our ability to generate cash; and
the result of future financing efforts and applications for customary tax incentives.
Should one or more of the foregoing risks or uncertainties materialize in a way that negatively impacts us, or should the assumptions underlying assumptionsour forward-looking statements prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement.

Please read “Risk Factors” contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties mentioned above and for a discussion of other risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements and hereafter in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made by us in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

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Summary of Risk Factors

We believe that the principal risks associated with our business, and consequently the principal risks associated with an investment in our common stock, are as follows:
Risks Related to our Business and the Industry in which we Operate
The substantial amount of indebtedness incurred to finance construction of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility may adversely affect Rio Grande’s cash flow and its ability to operate its business, remain in compliance with debt covenants and make payments on its indebtedness.
Restrictions in debt agreements may prevent certain beneficial transactions.
Conducting a portion of our operations through joint ventures in which we do not have 100% ownership interest, and which are not operated solely for the benefit of our stockholders, exposes us and our stockholders to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
Our projects are in the development and construction phases, and the success of such projects is unpredictable; as such, positive cash flows and even revenues will be several years away, if they occur at all.
We will be required to seek additional debt and equity financing in the future to complete future phases of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and the development of CCS projects and may not be able to secure such financing on acceptable terms, or at all.
There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
The Rio Grande LNG Facility’s operations will be substantially dependent on the development and operation of the Pipeline by Enbridge and its affiliates.
We may be subject to risks related to doing business in, and having counterparties based in, foreign countries.
Costs for the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects are subject to various factors.We will be dependent on third-party contractors for the successful completion of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects, and these contractors may be unable to complete the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects or may build a non-conforming Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects.
Our ability to generate cash is substantially dependent upon us entering into satisfactory contracts with third parties and the performance of those third parties under those contracts.
Our exposure to the performance and credit risks of counterparties may adversely affect our operating results, liquidity and access to financing.
Our construction and operations activities will be subject to a number of development risks, operational hazards, regulatory approvals and other risks which may not be fully covered by insurance, and which could cause cost overruns and delays that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.
Failure of exported LNG to be a competitive source of energy for international markets could adversely affect our customers and could materially and adversely affect our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.
Decreases in the global demand for and price of natural gas (versus the price of imported LNG) could lead to reduced development of LNG projects worldwide.
There may be shortages of LNG vessels worldwide, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.
The operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and any CCS project may be subject to significant operating hazards and uninsured risks, one or more of which may create significant liabilities and losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.
Risks Related to Governmental Regulation
The construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility remains subject to further governmental approvals, and some approvals may be subject to further conditions, review and/or revocation and other legal and regulatory risks, which may result in delays, increased costs or decreased cash flows.
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The Rio Grande LNG Facility will be subject to a number of environmental laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs, and existing and future environmental and similar laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs, liabilities or additional operating restrictions.
Changes in legislation and regulations or interpretations thereof, such as those relating to the importation and exportation of LNG and incentives for reduction of emissions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects and could cause additional expenditures and delays in connection with the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects and their construction.
Risks Related to our Securities
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights. Additionally, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other securities in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
Our largest stockholders will substantially influence our Company for the foreseeable future, including the outcome of matters requiring shareholder approval, and such control may prevent you and other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions and may result in conflicts of interest that could cause our stock price to decline.
Increasing attention to environmental, social and governance matters may impact our business, financial results or stock price and climate change concerns may pose challenges to our operating model.
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Part I


Item 1. Business

Our

Company Overview and Formation

NextDecade Corporation, a Delaware corporation, is a Houston-based energy company primarily engaged in construction and development activities related to the liquefaction of natural gas and sale of LNG and the capture and storage of CO2 emissions. We are constructing and developing a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located in the Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, Texas (the “Rio Grande LNG Facility”), which currently has three liquefaction trains and related infrastructure under construction. The Rio Grande LNG Facility has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) approval and Department of Energy (“DOE”) FTA and non-FTA authorizations for the construction of five liquefaction trains and LNG exports totaling 27 million tonnes per annum (“MTPA”). Liquefaction trains 1 through 3 and related infrastructure are currently under construction and liquefaction trains 4 and 5 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility are currently in development. We are also developing a planned carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) project at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and other potential CCS projects that would be located at third-party industrial facilities through our NEXT Carbon Solutions business.
We were incorporated in Delaware on May 21, 2014, and were formed for the purpose of acquiring, through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination, one or more businesses or entities. On July 24, 2017, one of our subsidiaries merged with and into NextDecade LLC, aan LNG development company founded in 2010 to develop LNG export projects and associated pipelines. Prior to the merger with NextDecade LLC, we had no operations and our assets consisted of cash proceeds received in connection with our initial public offering.

Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “NEXT.”

Our warrants issued in connection with

Rio Grande
Through our initial public offering in 2015 (the “IPO Warrants”) tradepartially owned subsidiary, Rio Grande, we are constructing the Rio Grande LNG Facility on the OTC Pink Market undernorth shore of the symbol “NEXTW.”

Company Overview

Our managementBrownsville Ship Channel. The site is comprisedlocated on 984 acres of a teamland which has been leased long-term and includes 15 thousand feet of industry leaders with extensive experience in LNG marketing and project development. We have focused and continue to focus our development activitiesfrontage on the Terminal and have undertaken and continue to undertake various initiatives to evaluate, design and engineer the Terminal that we expect will result in demand for LNG supply at the Terminal, which would enable us to seek construction financing to develop the Terminal.Brownsville Ship Channel. We believe the Terminal possesses competitive advantagessite is advantaged due to its proximity to abundant natural gas resources in several important areas, includingthe Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, access to an uncongested waterway for vessel loading, and location in a region that has historically been subject to fewer and less severe weather events relative to other locations along the US Gulf Coast. The Rio Grande LNG Facility has been approved by the FERC and authorized by the DOE to export up to 27 MTPA of LNG from up to five liquefaction trains.

In July 2023, Rio Grande commenced construction on the first three liquefaction trains and related infrastructure (“Phase 1”) of the Rio Grande LNG Facility following a positive final investment decision (“FID”) and the closing of project financing by Rio Grande, which owns Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Construction will be completed by Bechtel Energy Inc. (“Bechtel”) under fully wrapped, lump-sum turnkey engineering, design, commercial, regulatoryprocurement, and construction (“EPC”) contracts, and the facility will utilize APCI liquefaction technology, which is the predominant liquefaction technology utilized globally.
Pursuant to a joint venture agreement with equity partners for ownership of Rio Grande, we expect to receive up to approximately 20.8% of distributions of available cash generated from Phase 1 operations; provided, that a majority of the cash distributions to which we are otherwise entitled will be paid for any distribution period only after our equity partners receive an agreed distribution threshold in respect of such distribution period and certain other deficit payments from prior distribution periods, if any, are made.
Rio Grande has entered into long-term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements (“SPAs”) with nine creditworthy counterparties for aggregate volumes of approximately 16.2 MTPA of LNG, which is over 90% of the expected Phase 1 nameplate LNG production capacity. The SPAs have a weighted average term of 19.2 years. Under these SPAs, the customers will purchase LNG from Rio Grande for a price consisting of a fixed fee per MMBtu of LNG plus a variable fee per MMBtu of LNG, with the variable fees structured to cover the expected cost of natural gas supply. We submittedplus fuel and other sourcing costs to produce LNG. In certain circumstances, customers may elect to cancel or suspend deliveries of LNG cargoes, in which case the customers would still be required to pay the fixed fee with respect to cargoes that are not delivered. A portion of the fixed fee under each SPA will be subject to annual adjustment for inflation. The SPAs and contracted volumes to be made available under the SPAs are not tied to a pre-filing requestspecific train; however, the commencement of the term of each SPA is tied to a specified train.
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Rio Grande’s portfolio of LNG SPAs for Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility is as follows:
Customer
Volume
(mtpa)
Tenor
(years)
Delivery
Model (1)
TotalEnergies SE5.420FOB
Shell NA LNG LLC2.020FOB
ENN LNG Singapore Pte Ltd.2.020FOB
ENGIE S.A.1.7515FOB
China Gas Hongda Energy Trading Co., LTD1.020FOB
Guangdong Energy Group1.020DES
Exxon Mobil LNG Asia Pacific1.020FOB
Galp Trading S.A.1.020FOB
Itochu Corporation1.015FOB
Total16.15
19.2 years
weighted average
(1)FOB - free on board; DES - delivered ex-ship
Each of these SPAs is currently effective, and deliveries of LNG under these SPAs will commence on the respective Date of First Commercial Delivery (“DFCD”), which is primarily tied to the substantial completion or guaranteed substantial completion dates of specific trains as defined in each SPA. In aggregate, the approximately 14.65 MTPA of Phase 1 Henry Hub-linked SPAs have average fixed fees, unadjusted for inflation, totaling approximately $1.8 billion expected to be paid annually.
Marketing of Uncontracted Volumes
Rio Grande expects to sell any commissioning LNG volumes and operational LNG volumes in excess of SPA volumes into the LNG market through spot, short-term, and medium-term agreements. Rio Grande has entered into certain time charter agreements and expects to enter into additional time charter agreements with vessel owners to provide shipping capacity for LNG sales related to its existing DES SPA, commissioning volumes, and expected portfolio volumes.
Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC”)
Rio Grande entered into fully wrapped, lump-sum turnkey contracts with Bechtel, a well-established and reputable LNG engineering and construction firm, for the Terminalengineering, procurement, and construction of Phase 1 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, under which Bechtel has generally guaranteed cost, performance, and schedule. Under the Phase 1 EPC contracts, Bechtel is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and startup of three liquefaction trains and related infrastructure.
On July 12, 2023, Rio Grande issued final notice to proceed to Bechtel under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “FERC”) in March 2015EPC contracts for Phase 1. Total expected capital costs for Phase 1 are estimated to be approximately $18.0 billion, including estimated owner’s costs, contingencies, and filedfinancing costs, and including amounts spent prior to FID under limited notices to proceed.
Natural Gas Transportation and Supply
Rio Grande has entered into a formal application withfirm transportation agreement for capacity on the FERC in May 2016. We also believe we have robust commercial offtake and gas supply strategies.

On March 2, 2020, we completed the sale of Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (“to transport natural gas feedstock to the Rio Bravo”) to Spectra Energy Transmission II, LLC,Grande LNG Facility. The Rio Bravo Pipeline is being developed and will be constructed and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc ("Enbridge"Inc. (“Enbridge”). The Rio Bravo is developing a proposed interstatePipeline will provide Rio Grande access to purchase natural gas pipeline (the “Pipeline”) to supply natural gas to the Terminal.  In connection with the sale of Rio Bravo, our indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, Rio Grande LNG Gas Supply LLC (“Rio Grande Gas Supply”), entered into precedent agreements (the “Transportation Precedent Agreements”) with Rio Bravo and Valley Crossing Pipeline, LLC (“VCP”), pursuant to which Rio Grande Gas Supply will retain its rights to the natural gas firm transportation capacity on the Pipeline for a term of at least twenty years and Rio Bravo and VCP, will provide pipeline transportation service to Rio Grande Gas Supplysupplies in order to supply natural gas to the Terminal. As of March 2, 2020, VCP and Rio Bravo were wholly owned subsidiaries of Enbridge.

We believe that the Terminal, to be located on a 984-acre site in Brownsville, Texas, along with the Pipeline to connect the Terminal to the Agua Dulce supply area is well-positioned among the second wave of United States (“U.S.”) LNG projects. It is located to take advantage of natural gas resources in Texas, including the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. We plan to construct, develop, own and operate the Terminal. 

On November 22, 2019, the Terminal and the Pipeline received an order from the FERC (“the Order”) authorizing the siting, construction, and operation of six liquefaction trains, four LNG storage tanks (each with a capacity of 180,000 cubic meters), two marine jetties for ocean-going LNG vessels, one turning basin, and six truck loading bays for LNG and natural gas liquids and all associated facilities for the production of up to 27 million tonnes per annum (“mtpa”).  Simultaneously, the FERC issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing the construction of the Pipeline. On January 23, 2020, the FERC issued its final order on rehearing rejecting all challenges to the Order. While the Order authorizes six liquefaction trains, we may make a positive FID on as few as two liquefaction trains.

The original front-end engineering and design for the Terminal was based on six LNG trains capable of producing 27 mtpa of LNG for export. The technologies that were selected and filed with the FERC in 2015 and 2016 have evolved over the five-year permitting period; the individual LNG trains are now more efficient and will produce a greater volume of LNG with lower total carbon dioxide equivalent (“CO2e”) emissions. Multiple optimizations have been identified that will leadconnect to the delivery of a LNG project capable of producing 27 mtpa with just five LNG trains instead of six.

We expect the optimization to a five-train project to result in several environmentalsix regional intra and community benefits when compared with our original six-train project including (i) approximately 21 percent lower CO2e emissions, (ii) a shortened construction timeline for the full 27 mtpa project, (iii) reduced facility footprint, and (iv) an expected reduction in roadway traffic.

On August 13, 2020, the FERC approved the change of the design for the Terminal from six trains to five trains. On October 9, 2020, the FERC issued a notice of denial of rehearing for such approval in regards to challenges to its approval of the design change.

Any future development of Train 6 will require us to secure authorization from the FERC, the U.S. Department of Energy (the “DOE”), and any other relevant federal or state agency with jurisdiction over the export project.

In January 2021, we determined that the site in Texas City, Texas for our proposed second LNG facility (“Galveston Bay LNG”) is not suitable for a LNG facility and related infrastructure and utilities and, therefore, elected to forfeit such site. We have informed the FERC of our intent to withdraw Galveston Bay LNG from FERC pre-filing proceedings and cease all related activities. In March 2021, the DOE terminated its June 2018 authorization for export of LNG from Galveston Bay LNG.

Engineering, Procurement, and Construction

During the third quarter of 2018, we initiated a competitive engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) bid process. We received expressions of interest (the “EOIs”) from multiple EPC contractors to participate in the EPC process. We reviewed the EOIs against a series of selection criteria and issued formal invitations to bid to Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals, Inc. (“Bechtel”), Fluor Enterprises, Inc. (“Fluor”) and McDermott International, Inc (“McDermott”). In December 2018, each of the EPC bidders provided us with an endorsement of the Terminal’s front-end engineering and design (“FEED”), which indicates the bidders’ confirmation that the Terminal is technically feasible and can be further designed, engineered, permitted, constructed, commissioned and safely placed into operations. On April 22, 2019, we received EPC bid packages from each of Bechtel and Fluor, two of the global LNG market’s leading EPC contractors.  The technical and commercial bid packages, which were received on-schedule, were for fully wrapped lump-sum separated turnkey (“LSTK”) EPC contracts for the Terminal.

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On May 24, 2019,interstate pipelines, giving Rio Grande entered into two LSTK EPC agreements with Bechtel for the construction of (i) two LNG trains with expected aggregate production capacity up to approximately 11.74 mtpa, two 180,000m3 full containment LNG tanks, one marine loading berth, related utilities and facilities, and all related appurtenances thereto, together with certain additional work options (the “Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement”) and (ii) an LNG train with expected production capacity of up to approximately 5.87 mtpa, related utilities and facilities, and all related appurtenances  thereto (the “Train 3 EPC Agreement” and together with the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement, the “EPC Agreements”).  During each of 2020 and 2019, we issued two limited notices to proceed to Bechtel under the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement.

In 2020, we developed proprietary carbon capture processes that, with the addition of storage technology, could reduce CO2e emissions at the Terminal by approximately 90 percent.  While we are advancing our work in this area, we are also exploring options to address the remaining CO2e emissions to enable the Terminal to achieve carbon-neutrality.

Commercial

We are continuing commercial discussions with a variety of parties ranging from large utilities and state-sponsored enterprises to portfolio and multinational commodity interests. Leveraging the global relationships and extensive experience of our management team, we expect to sign long-term binding offtake commitments for substantially all of the Terminal’s capacity prior to a FID.

We believe the Terminal’s location will provide customers with access to low-cost naturalprolific gas production from the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. We are focused on selling LNGShale and providing significant flexibility to customers through a “free on board” (“FOB”) model whereby a marketing affiliate would acquire feedobtain competitively priced natural gas feedstock.

The Rio Bravo Pipeline is under development and is expected to be constructed and completed prior to the Terminal would produce the LNG and the title transfer would occurstart of commissioning of Train 1 at the interface betweenRio Grande LNG Facility. Rio Grande has also entered into an agreement for capacity on an interruptible basis with Enbridge’s Valley Crossing Pipeline to provide redundant capacity for commissioning and operations.
We have proposed and are in the Terminalprocess of executing a substantial and the customer’s ship.

diversified natural gas feedstock sourcing strategy to spread risk exposure across multiple contracts, counterparties, and pricing hubs. We offer multiple LNG pricing options, meeting the evolving needsexpect to enter into gas supply arrangements with a wide range of suppliers, and we also expect to leverage trading platforms and exchanges to

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lock in natural gas supply prices and/or hedge risk. Certain of our customers and maximizing our total addressable market. Global LNG customers are expressing interest in contracting their LNG offtake counterparties have the option to indexessell to Rio Grande some or all of the natural gas required to produce their respective contracted LNG volumes pursuant to structured options which define how much volume can be supplied and how much notice must be provided to switch to and from self-sourcing.
Final Investment Decision on Train 4 and Train 5 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility
We expect to make a positive final investment decision and commencement of construction of Train 4 and related infrastructure, and subsequently Train 5 and related infrastructure, at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, subject to, among other than Henry Hub.things, finalizing and entering into EPC contracts, entering into appropriate commercial arrangements, and obtaining adequate financing to construct each train and related infrastructure. We are workinghave commenced certain pre-FID activities for Train 4, including the Front-end Engineering and Design ("FEED") and EPC contract processes with U.S. producersBechtel.
TotalEnergies SE ("TotalEnergies") has LNG purchase options of 1.5 MTPA for each of Train 4 and Train 5. If TotalEnergies exercises its LNG purchase options, we currently estimate that an additional approximately 3 MTPA of LNG must be contracted on a long-term basis for each of Train 4 and Train 5 prior to provide alternative indexation, including netback pricing, to satisfy global LNG customers’ needs.  LNG pricing options may include indexation to Brent Crude Oil, Agua Dulce hub, Waha hub, Japan Korea Marker and Title Transfer Facility, among others.

In March 2019, we entered intomaking a 20-year sale and purchase agreement (the “SPA”) with Shell NA LNG LLC (“Shell”)positive final investment decision for the supplyrespective train. We continue to advance commercial discussions with various potential counterparties and expect to finalize commercial arrangements for Train 4 in the coming months to support a positive final investment decision on Train 4.

We expect to finance construction of two mtpaTrain 4 and associated infrastructure utilizing a combination of liquefied natural gas fromdebt and equity funding. The Company expects to enter into bank facilities for the Terminal.  Pursuant to the SPA, Shell will purchase LNG on a FOB basis starting from the date the first liquefaction traindebt portion of the Terminal that is commercially operable,funding. In connection with consummating the Rio Grande Phase 1 equity joint venture, our equity partners each have options to invest in Train 4 and Train 5 equity, which, if exercised, would provide approximately three-quarters60% of the purchased LNG volume indexedequity funding required for each of Train 4 and Train 5. Inclusive of these options, we currently expect to Brentfund 40% of the equity commitments for each of Train 4 and the remaining volume indexedTrain 5, and to domestic United States gas indices, including Henry Hub. In the first quarterhave an initial economic interest of 2020, the SPA became effective upon the conditions precedent40% in each of Train 4 and Train 5, increasing to 60% after our equity partners achieve certain returns on their investments in the SPA being satisfied or waived.  The SPA obligates Rio Granderespective train. We expect to deliverundertake the contracted volumes of LNG to Shell atfinancing process for Train 4 after the FOB delivery point, subject to the first liquefaction train at the Terminal being commercially operable.

EPC contract and commercial arrangements are finalized.

Governmental Permits, Approvals and Authorizations

We will beare required to obtain governmental approvals and authorizations to implement our proposed business strategy, which includes the design, construction and operation of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and the export of LNG from the U.S. to foreign countries. The design, siting, construction and operation of LNG export terminalsfacilities and the export of LNG is a regulated activity and is subject to Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (the "NGA"). Federal law has bifurcated regulatory jurisdiction of LNG export activities. The FERC has jurisdiction overto authorize the siting, construction and permittingoperation of LNG export facilities. The DOE has jurisdiction over the import and export of the natural gas commodity, including natural gas in the form of LNG. The FERC also has jurisdiction over the siting, construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines under Section 7 of the NGA and regulates interstate pipelines’ rates and terms and conditions of service under Sections 4 and 5 of the NGA. In 2002, the FERC established a policy of not regulating the terms and conditions of service for LNG import or export facilities or requiring that LNG import or export facilities operate as “open access” facilities for all customers. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which amended the NGA, codified this policy until January 1, 2015, and the FERC has not indicated that it intends to depart from its policy of not regulating the terms or conditions of service or requiring that LNG terminalsimport or export facilities operate on an open access basis.

Although the FERC acts as the lead agency with jurisdiction over LNG import and export facilities, other federal and state agencies act as cooperating agencies, coordinating with the FERC to evaluate applications for LNG export facilities. These agencies include the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (the “PHMSA”), the U.S. Coast Guard (the “Coast Guard”), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International Boundary and Water Commission and other federal agencies with jurisdiction over potential environmental impacts of LNG terminalexport facility construction and operation. Certain federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act, delegate authority over certain actions to state agencies, like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Railroad Commission of Texas. In reviewing an application for an LNG import or export terminalfacility or an interstate natural gas pipeline, the FERC also works with these state agencies that have jurisdiction over certain aspects of LNG terminalfacility or interstate natural gas pipeline construction or operation.

In particular, the PHMSA has established safety standards for interstate natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities. Similarly, the Coast Guard has established safety regulations for marine operations at LNG facilities and the operation of LNG carriers. The FERC, the PHMSA and the Coast Guard entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2004 that establishes the FERC’s primary role in evaluating LNG terminalfacility applications and defines the process for coordinating the review of an LNG import or export terminalfacility application with the PHMSA and the Coast Guard. In 2018, the FERC and the
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PHMSA entered into a separate Memorandum of Understanding that establishes the process and timeline by which the PHMSA should determine whether an LNG terminal projectfacility will meet the PHMSA’s LNG safety siting standards.

We filed our formal applicationhave obtained all major permits required to build the Rio Grande LNG Facility and export LNG, including FERC approval and DOE FTA and non-FTA authorizations for the Terminal with the FERC on May 5, 2016, received a Final Environmental Impact Statement from the FERC on April 26,construction of five liquefaction trains and LNG exports totaling 27 MTPA.
On November 22, 2019, andwe received the Order on November 22, 2019from FERC authorizing the siting, construction and operation of the Terminal (the “Order”). Other major regulatory permits obtained in 2019 include the Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Following receipt of the Order, two requests for re-hearing were filed. One of those requests for rehearing also requested that the FERC stay the Order.Rio Grande LNG Facility.  On January 23,August 13, 2020, the FERC issued its Order on Rehearing and Stay in whichapproved the FERC rejected all challenges presented in the requests for rehearing and the request for staychange of the Order.  The parties who filed the requests for re-hearing have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appealsdesign for the District of Columbia to review the Order and the order denying rehearing, and that appeal is still pending.   A second appeal has also been filed with the same court by the same parties, seeking a review of the FERC letter order amending the Order to account for the design changeRio Grande LNG Facility from six trains to five trains and this appeal is also pending. Similar appeals are also pending in the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in respect of other permits issued bytrains. On September 22, 2021, Rio Grande received the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Permit issued under CWA Section 404/RHA – Section 10.

On September 7, 2016, Rio Grande obtained an authorization for export of LNG to countries with which the U.S. has a Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) on ourits own behalf and as an agent for others for a term of 30 years. On February 10, 2020, the DOE issued its “Opinion and Order Granting Long-Term Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations to Rio Grande" in DOE/FE Order No. 4492. In addition, on October 21, 2020, the DOE issued its Order Extending Export Term for Authorization to Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations through December 31, 2050.

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TableFollowing receipt of Contents

Gas Supply

the FERC Order, two requests for re-hearing were filed. One of those requests for rehearing also requested that the FERC stay the Order. On January 23, 2020, the FERC issued its Order on Rehearing and Stay in which the FERC rejected all challenges presented in the requests for rehearing and the request for stay of the Order.  The proposed Terminal site will be located in Brownsville, Texas, benefiting from close accessparties who filed the requests for re-hearing petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (“D.C. Circuit”) to review the Order and the order denying rehearing. On August 3, 2021, the D.C. Circuit denied all petitions, except for two technical issues dealing with environmental justice and GHG emissions, which were remanded to the Permian BasinFERC for further consideration. The D.C. Circuit did so without vacatur, and Eagle Ford Shale.accordingly, the Rio Grande LNG Facility's authorization from the FERC remains legally valid and enforceable.  A second appeal was also filed with the same court by the same parties, seeking a review of the FERC letter order amending the Order to account for the design change from six to five trains but the petitioners moved to voluntarily dismiss this appeal on August 23, 2021. On April 21, 2023, FERC issued its order responding to the D.C. Circuit’s remand of the FERC Order, reaffirming its prior finding that the siting, construction, and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility is not inconsistent with the public interest (“Remand Order”).Parties sought rehearing of the Remand Order, which FERC denied by operation of law on June 22, 2023, and subsequently issued a substantive order on the merits upholding the conclusions in the Remand Order, and its reaffirmation of the FERC Order.On August 17, 2023, parties petitioned the D.C. Circuit for review of the Remand Order, which is still pending.

On November 24, 2023, a motion was filed with FERC to stay construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, which FERC denied on January 24, 2024. On February 2, 2024, parties filed a motion of the D.C Circuit to stay construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, which is still pending with the D.C. Circuit.
Parties also filed a similar appeal in the Fifth Circuit in respect to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit issued pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. On January 5, 2023, the court fully denied the appeal rejecting each of the challengers’ arguments.
On November 17, 2021, Rio Grande filed a Limited Amendment with the FERC, seeking authorization to incorporate carbon capture and storage systems, which would enable Rio Grande to voluntarily capture and permanently store at least 90% of the CO2 expected to be generated at the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Once captured, the CO2 is expected to be transported to an underground geologic formation permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and relevant Texas agencies via the existing underground injection control (“UIC”) Class VI permitting regime for geologic sequestration of CO2. On April 14, 2023, FERC issued a notice that it was suspending its environmental analysis of the Limited Amendment, citing the need for additional information regarding the carbon capture systems. The Limited Amendment is pending with FERC.
On October 14, 2022, Rio Grande received from FERC a two-year extension of time, until November 22, 2028, to complete construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and place it into service. Rio Grande’s initial order had required that Rio Grande complete construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility within seven years of the date of the Order, by November 22, 2026. Rio Grande sought an extension of this deadline, explaining to FERC that despite NextDecade’s efforts to develop the Rio Grande LNG Facility, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted NextDecade’s ability to secure sufficient offtake agreements to reach a positive investment decision and commence construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. FERC found that this demonstrated good cause to extend the commencement of construction deadline, and accordingly approved Rio Grande’s request.
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NEXT Carbon Solutions
Carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) is the process of (i) capturing CO2 at an emissions source, (ii) compressing the CO2 for transportation and (iii) safely injecting the compressed CO2 into deep rock formations at a suitable site, where it is permanently stored and subsequently monitored according to EPA standards and requirements. The Paris Agreement is a multilateral, binding agreement that brings nations together in a common cause to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. We believe that deploying CCS equipment and technology is key to achieving global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (which includes CO2 among other gases), a goal of the Paris Agreement.
NEXT Carbon Solutions is developing a proposed end-to-end CCS solutions for power plants and other industrial facilities that emit CO2 as a byproduct of various processes within their operations. Without a CCS solution, the emitted CO2 would otherwise be released to the atmosphere. Leveraging our team’s engineering and project management experience, we have developed proprietary processes focused on post-combustion carbon capture that are expected to lower the capital and operating costs of deploying CCS at industrial facilities, thereby making such potential projects more economically viable. We have proposed a CCS project at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, and we expect to realize materialpartner with third parties to invest in the deployment of CCS technologies to capture and permanently store CO2 emissions at their facilities.
Service Offerings and Potential Market
NEXT Carbon Solutions’ proprietary CCS processes will use an amine absorption system, one of the most common methods used for such purposes.Derived from extensive engineering efforts, our proprietary CCS processes are designed to generate the following expected benefits as compared to existing alternatives:
Enable CO2 capture up to an expected 95% of emissions generated from providing our customers with accessa source facility;
Competitive cost (both capital and operating expenditures) of post-combustion CCS;
Use proven technology and equipment to these low-costcapture CO2 emissions at scale;
Minimize energy requirements;
Substantially reduce or, in some cases, eliminate consumption of fresh-water; and
Reduce the land footprint required by the CCS facility.
Our proprietary CCS processes do not include new equipment or technology. We have designed novel proposed applications of existing industrial-scale equipment to reduce the expected capital and operating expenditures associated gas resources. Major oil companies and independent shale producers have created extraordinary efficiencies and improvements, including enhanced well recoveries through extended lateral lengths and hydraulic fracturing technology, rig productivity, and reductions in operating and lifecycle costs. However, U.S. demand has not risen proportionally with the growthCCS process applied at scale. These novel proposed designs and processes are covered by a portfolio of awarded and pending patents and are the intellectual property of the Company. NEXT Carbon Solutions proposed project designs are focused on the treatment and cooling stages of CO2-rich flue gas and therefore agnostic to amine type, allowing us to work with multiple third party providers to optimize the proposed projects and maintain their anticipated benefits.
Our proposed end-to-end CCS offering includes the design, development, construction and operation of the capture, transportation, and storage components of a carbon capture and storage project.
NEXT Carbon Solutions' marketing efforts for proposed projects are primarily focused on existing industrial facilities with emissions greater than one million tonnes of CO2 per annum and located proximally with saline aquifers with adequate storage capacity. There are more than 600 facilities in recoverable reserves.

Through the Pipeline, projectedUnited States that produce more than one million tonnes of CO2 per annum, representing a very robust addressable market. We believe the optimal transportation and storage component of our projects is a point-to-point design, whereby CO2 captured from a source facility is permanently stored in a proximate and dedicated saline aquifer storage site. CO2 storage hubs also represent a viable CO2 storage alternative. Our analysis indicates that source emitters of greater than one million tonnes per annum are sufficient in size to have interconnectssupport a point-to-point sequestration project and could serve as an anchor customer for the eventual development of a storage hub.

Potential Sources of Value
Integrated deployment of CCS processes at a source facility has the potential to generate value from a variety of sources including: government incentives, such as the Internal Revenue Code Section 45Q tax credit, build out and marketing of a portfolio of low cost, independently verified carbon credits, premiums resulting from more environmentally friendly products, such as products with a combined receipt capacitylower carbon footprint or intensity, and, in certain potential commercial arrangements, increased market share earned by the source facility following CCS deployment.
We can offer prospective customers a variety of more than 10 billion cubic feet per day (“Bcf/d”),proposed commercial structures, which are aimed at providing sufficient flexibility to balance customers’ ESG and financial goals, commercial appetite, risk profiles, investing strategies, and capital availability. We also believe that some of our prospective customers may have significant financial upside due to improved competitive position resulting from a full integration of the source facility with CCS processes, and we will
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seek to share in this value creation when applicable. Further, we believe that we will have supply flexibility established by the Transportation Precedent Agreements. The combination of increased production and expanding takeaway capacity indicates that the Agua Dulce supply area, from which the Pipeline is proposed to be routed, is expected to become increasingly liquid and remain competitively priced to Henry Hub. We believe our proximity to two major gas reserves basins, increasing takeaway capacitycurrent market conditions, incentives provided in the area,United States and prospective regulation in foreign countries, represent a significant influxunique opportunity for NEXT Carbon Solutions to develop a portfolio of production and infrastructure investment, as well asCCS projects that would eventually generate meaningful financial returns to our existing contacts and discussionsshareholders. NEXT Carbon Solutions expects to negotiate commercial terms with someprospective customers on a case-by-case basis depending on the unique characteristics of the largest regional operators, represent key elements of a compelling feed gas strategy for partners and customers alike. We are continuing to advance substantive negotiations in these areas.

The Permian Basin offers one of the deepest inventories of economic natural gas resource in the world. According to Enverus, there are approximately 700 trillion cubic feet ("Tcf") of remaining natural gas resource in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale. Permian Basin economics are largely driven by the production of oil, not gas; due to flaring restrictions, producers must market their natural gas in order to sustain oil production programs. We believe the Permian Basin will produce significant quantities of low-cost natural gas for decades.

Driven by the Permian Basin, natural gas production in Texas continues to grow at a rapid pace. According to data from the Energy Information Administration ("EIA"), natural gas production in the Permian Basin, alone, has grown by more than 40 percent annually in recent years. By the end of 2019, the Permian Basin was producing more than 11 Bcf/d of natural gas and additional discoveries continue to be made in Texas, including a new dry gas stacked play in the Eagle Ford Shale with announced recoverable resource of approximately 21 Tcf and a breakeven price below $1.25 per MMBtu.

We estimate dry gas production in Texas to reach nearly 40 Bcf/d by 2030. We do not believe there is sufficient domestic demand within Texas to support our projections for Texas natural gas production. We believe new LNG projects will need to absorb large volumes of natural gas. To support Permian Basin and Eagle Ford gas production, Texas may need more than 9.3 Bcf/d of incremental LNG export capacity by 2030; in a higher oil price environment, even more LNG export capacity may be needed. We estimate that at least 6.1 Bcf/d of incremental LNG FIDs, equivalent to more than 47 mtpa, may be needed in the next 12 to 36 months to support expected Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale natural gas production growth.

relevant source facility.

Competition

We are subject to a high degree of competition in all aspects of our business. See “Item 1.A — Risk Factors —Competition in the energy industry is intense,, and some of our competitors have greater financial, technological and other resources.

The TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility will compete with liquefaction facilities worldwide to supply low-cost liquefactioneconomically advantaged LNG to the global market. In addition,this market, we will compete with a variety of companies, in the global LNG market, such as independent, technology-driven companies, state-owned companies, and other independent oil and natural gas companies and utilities. Many of these competitors have longer operating histories, more development experience, greater name recognition, greater access to the LNG market, more employees, and substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we currently possess.

NEXT Carbon Solutions will compete with other providers of CCS services, including traditional original end manufacturers, EPC firms and midstream transportation and storage companies in offering CCS solutions. Our competitors in the CCS space may have longer operating histories, more development experience, greater name recognition, greater access to the CCS market, more employees and substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we currently possess.
Employees

As of December 31, 2020,2023, we had 52147 full-time employees and 513 independent contractors. We hireutilize independent contractors on an as-needed basis and have no collective bargaining agreements with our employees.

Offices

Our principal executive offices are located at 1000 Louisiana St., Suite 3900, Houston, Texas, 77002, and our telephone number is (713) 574-1880.

Available Information

Our internet website address is www.next-decade.com. We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on our website under the heading “Investors.” Accordingly, investors should monitor such portion of our website, in addition to following our press releases and SEC filings. Within our website under the heading “Investors,” we make available free of charge our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed with or furnished to the SEC under applicable securities laws. These materials are made available as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file such materials with or furnish such materials to the SEC. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this document. In addition, we intend to disclose on our website any amendments to, or waivers from, our Code of Conduct and Ethics that are required to be publicly disclosed pursuant to rules of the SEC.

The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

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Table of Contents

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We are subject to uncertainties and risks due to the nature of the business activities we conduct. The following information describes certain uncertainties and risks that could affect our business, financial condition or results of operations or could cause actual results to differ materially from estimates or expectations contained in our forward-looking statements on page 4 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.statements. This section does not describe all risks applicable to us, our industry or our business, and it is intended only as a summary of known material risks that are specific to us. We may experience additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to our Business and the Industry in which we Operate
The substantial amount of indebtedness incurred to finance construction of Phase 1 of theRio Grande LNG Facilitymay adversely affect Rio Grandescash flow and its ability to operate its business, remain in compliance with debt covenants and make payments on its indebtedness.
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Rio Grande has incurred a substantial amount of indebtedness. This substantial level of indebtedness increases the possibility that Rio Grande may be unable to generate cash sufficient to pay, when due, the principal or interest on such indebtedness or to refinance such indebtedness ahead of its scheduled maturity. This indebtedness and obligations thereunder could have other important consequences to you as a stockholder. For example:
any failure to comply with the obligations of any of Rio Grande’s debt instruments, including financial and other restrictive covenants, could result in an event of default under the applicable instrument;
Rio Grande may be more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse change in government regulation affecting Rio Grande’s ability to pay obligations when due;
Rio Grande may need to dedicate a substantial portion of its future cashflow from operations to payments on indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of cash flows to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, other general corporate purposes and any future dividends or share repurchases;
the ability to refinance Rio Grande’s indebtedness will depend on the condition of credit markets and capital markets, and its financial condition at such time. Any refinancing could be at higher interest rates and may require compliance with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict business operations;
we may have limited flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in Rio Grande’s business and the industry in which it operates; and
our indebtedness may place Rio Grande at a competitive disadvantage compared to its competitors that have less debt.
Restrictions in debt agreements may prevent certain beneficial transactions.
In addition to restrictions on the ability of Rio Grande to make distributions or incur additional indebtedness, the agreements governing Rio Grande’s indebtedness also contain various other covenants that may prevent it from engaging in beneficial transactions, including limitations on the ability of Rio Grande or certain of its subsidiaries to:
make distributions or certain investments;
incur additional indebtedness;
purchase, redeem or retire equity interests;
sell or transfer assets;
incur liens;
enter into transactions with affiliates; and
consolidate, merge, sell or lease all or substantially all of its assets.
A breach of the covenants and other restrictions in any of Rio Grande’s indebtedness could result in an event of default thereunder. Such a default may allow the holders of such indebtedness to accelerate the related indebtedness which may result in foreclosure on Rio Grande’s assets.
Additionally, NextDecade LLC has entered into a credit agreement (the “NextDecade Credit Agreement”) that provides for a $50 million revolving loan facility. The NextDecade Credit Agreement includes covenants that, among other things, limit the ability of NextDecade LLC to incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments or pay dividends or distributions on equity interests or subordinated indebtedness or purchase, redeem, or retire equity interests, sell or transfer assets, incur liens or dissolve, liquidate, consolidate, merge. Upon the occurrence and continuation of an event of default under the NextDecade Credit Agreement (and after all applicable cure periods have elapsed), the required lenders may, by notice to NextDecade LLC accelerate the loans thereunder, suspend or terminate all outstanding loan commitments under the NextDecade Credit Agreement and exercise remedies in respect of the collateral.
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Conducting a portion of our operations through joint venturesin which we do not have 100% ownership interest, and which are not operated solely for the benefit of our stockholders, exposes us and our stockholders to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control.
We currently operate parts of our business through a joint venture, Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“Intermediate Holdings”) in which we do not have 100% ownership interest, and we may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. Joint ventures and minority investments inherently involve a lesser degree of control over business operations, thereby potentially increasing the financial, legal, operational and/or compliance risks associated with the joint venture or minority investment. For example, except for the Member Reserved Matters (as defined below), the affairs of Intermediate Holdings will otherwise be managed by a board of managers (the “Intermediate Holdings Board”). The Intermediate Holdings Board will be composed of up to four managers appointed by the NextDecade Member (the “Class A Managers”), including one Class A Manager designated by Global LNG North America Corp., a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE, and managers appointed by members holding a minimum percentage of the Class B limited liability company interests in Intermediate Holdings (the “Class B Managers”). Approval of any matter by the Intermediate Holdings Board will require the consent of a majority of the Class A Managers voting on the matter and Class B Managers representing a majority of the Class B limited liability company interests in Intermediate Holdings voting for such matter, as applicable; provided that (i) certain specified “qualified matters,” “supermajority matters,” and “unanimous matters” are reserved to the approval of the members of Intermediate Holdings (the "Member Reserved Matters") holding a requisite percentage of the applicable classes of limited liability company interests in Intermediate Holdings, and (ii) related party transactions will be subject to approval in accordance with the procedures specified in the JV Agreement.  Pursuant to the JV Agreement, the NextDecade Member will be entitled to receive up to approximately 20.8% of distributions of available cash of Intermediate Holdings to its members during operations; provided, that a majority of the Intermediate Holdings distributions to which the NextDecade Member is otherwise entitled will be paid for any distribution period only after the Financial Investors receive an agreed distribution threshold in respect of such distribution period and certain other deficit payments from prior distribution periods, if any, are made. Any such shortfall in distributions that the NextDecade Member would otherwise have been entitled to will accrue as an arrearage to be paid out in future periods in which Intermediate Holdings meets the applicable target distribution threshold for the Financial Investors. Challenges and risks presented by joint venture structures not otherwise present with respect to our wholly-owned subsidiaries and direct operations, include:
our joint ventures may fail to generate the expected financial results, and the return may be insufficient to justify our investment of effort and/or funds;
we may not control the joint ventures or our venture partners may hold veto rights over certain actions;
the level of oversight, control and access to management information we are able to exercise with respect to these operations may be lower compared to our wholly-owned businesses, which may increase uncertainty relating to the financial condition of these operations, including the credit risk profile;
we may experience impasses or disputes with our joint venture partners on certain decisions, which could require us to expend additional resources to resolve such impasses or disputes, including litigation or arbitration;
we may not have control over the timing or amount of distributions from the joint ventures;
our joint venture partners may have business or economic interests that are inconsistent with ours and may take actions contrary to our interests;
our joint venture partners may fail to fund capital contributions or fail to fulfill their obligations as partners;
the arrangements governing our joint ventures may contain restrictions on the conduct of our business and may contain certain conditions or milestone events that may never be satisfied or achieved;
we may suffer losses as a result of actions taken by our venture partners with respect to our joint ventures; and
it may be difficult for us to exit joint ventures if an impasse arises or if we desire to sell our interest for any reason.
We believe an important element in the success of any joint venture is a solid relationship between the members of that venture. If there is a change in ownership, a change of control, a change in management or management philosophy, a change in business strategy or another event with respect to a member of our joint venture that adversely impacts the relationship between the venture partners, it could adversely impact such venture.
If our partners are unable or unwilling to invest in our joint venture in the manner that is anticipated or otherwise fail to meet their contractual obligations, the joint venture may be unable to adequately perform and conduct its respective operations, or may require us to provide, or make other arrangements for additional financing for the joint venture. Such financing may not be available on favorable terms, or at all.
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Joint venture partners, controlling shareholders, management or other persons or entities who control them may have economic or business interests, strategies or goals that are inconsistent with ours. Business decisions or other actions or omissions of the joint venture partners, controlling shareholders, management or other persons or entities who control them may adversely affect the value of our investment, result in litigation or regulatory action against us and otherwise damage our reputation. Any such circumstance could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and/or prospects.
Our projects are in the process of developing LNG liquefactiondevelopment and export projects,construction phases, and the success of such projects is unpredictable; as such, positive cash flows and even revenues will be several years away, if they occur at all.

We are not expected to generate cash flow, or even obtain revenues, from our LNG liquefaction and export activities unless and until the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is operational, which is expectedoperational. Additionally, we do not expect to begenerate cash flow from our CCS projects until we install CCS systems at least four years away, and accordingly,the Rio Grande LNG Facility or on third-party industrial facilities. Accordingly, distributions to investors may be limited, delayed, or non-existent.

Our cash flow and consequently our ability to distribute earnings is solely dependent upon the revenue Rio Grande receives from the Terminal and the transfer of funds by Rio Grande to NextDecade in the form of distributions or otherwise. Rio Grande’s ability to complete the Terminal, as discussed further below, will be dependent upon, among other things, our ability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and raise the capital necessary to fund development of the Terminal.

Our ability to pay dividends is almost entirely dependent upon our ability to complete Phase 1 of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and future phases of development and implement CCS systems and thereafter generate cash and net operating income from operations. Rio Grande’s ability to complete the Rio Grande LNG Facility, as discussed further below, is dependent upon, among other things, performance of third-party contractors and customers under their agreements with Rio Grande. NEXT Carbon Solutions’ ability to install CCS systems at third-party industrial facilities, as discussed further below, is dependent on the development of front-end engineering and design (“FEED”) offerings and contracting with third parties to install CCS systems in their industrial facilities. We do not expect Rio Grande to generate any revenue until the completion of construction of the first phasePhase 1 of the Terminal. Upon such completion,Rio Grande LNG Facility or NEXT Carbon Solutions to generate any revenue until successful installation of CCS systems at third-party facilities. After Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility is completed or our CCS systems are installed in third-party industrial facilities, financing and numerous other factors affecting the Terminal may reduce our cash flow. As a result, we may not make distributions of any amount or any distributions may be delayed.

Substantially all of our anticipated revenue will be dependent upon the Terminal. Due to our lack of asset diversification, adverse developments at or affecting the Terminal would have a significantly greater impact on our financial condition and results of operations than if we maintained a more diverse portfolio of assets.

We will be required to seek additional debt and equity financing in the future to complete future phases of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and the development of CCS projects and may not be able to secure such financing on acceptable terms, or at all.

Since we will be unable to generate any revenue while we are in the development and construction stages, which will be for multiple years with respect to Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, we will need additional financing to provide the capital required to execute our business plan. We will need significant additional funding to develop and construct future phases of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects as well as for working capital requirements and other operating and general corporate purposes.

Our ability to obtain the capital necessary to fund development and construction of future projects will depend on the condition of the credit and capital markets, which could become constrained due to factors outside our control. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient capital on acceptable terms, or at all. If sufficient capital is not available on satisfactory terms, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate the development of business opportunities, and our operations and financial condition may be adversely affected to a significant extent.

Debt

Additional debt financing for future phases of development at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, if obtained, may involve agreements that include liens on Terminalsubsequent trains or other assets and covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as paying dividends or making distributions, incurring additional debt, acquiring or disposing of assets and increasing expenses. Debt financing would also be required to be repaid regardless of our operating results.

In addition, the ability to obtain financing for future phases of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is expected to be contingent upon, among other things, our ability to enterentry into EPC agreements for construction of subsequent trains and sufficient long-term commercial agreements prior to the commencement of construction. For additional information regarding our ability to enter into sufficient long-term commercialsuch agreements, see “— Our ability to generate cash is substantially dependent upon us entering into satisfactory contracts with third parties and the performance of those third parties under those contracts.”

Postponement

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There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
We have incurred operating losses since our inception and management expects operating losses and negative cash flows to continue for the foreseeable future and, as a result, we will require additional capital to fund our operations and execute our business plan. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $38.2 million in makingcash and cash equivalents, which may not be sufficient to fund the Company's planned operations through one year after the date the consolidated financial statements are issued. Accordingly, there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a positive FID ingoing concern. The analysis used to determine the construction and operationCompany's ability to continue as a going concern does not include cash sources outside of the Terminal may require usCompany's direct control that management expects to amend some ofbe available within the next twelve months.
Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our agreements.

ability to obtain sufficient funding through additional debt or equity financing and to manage operating and overhead costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient capital on acceptable or favorable terms to the Company, or at all.

The terms of certain agreements to which we are a party require that a positive FID in the Terminal occurs no later than specified dates or may otherwise terminate at the end of their respective terms.  If we postpone making a positive FID in the construction and operation of the Terminal beyond any such date or term, we may need to amend the corresponding agreement in order to extend such date or term.  Our business could be materially adversely affected if certain of such agreements are not amended.

The Terminal’sRio Grande LNG Facility’s operations will be substantially dependent on the development and operation of the Pipeline by Enbridge and its affiliates.

The TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility will be dependent on a pipeline owned by an affiliate of Enbridge (the “Transporter”) for the delivery of all of its natural gas. The Pipeline is currently in development and its construction will require the Transporter to secure options for rights-of-way along the proposed Pipeline route. It is possible that, in negotiating to secure these rights-of-way, the Transporter encounters recalcitrant landowners or competitive projects, which could result in additional time needed to secure the Pipeline route and, consequently, delays in, or abandonment of, its construction. Construction of the Pipeline could be delayed or abandoned for any of many other reasons, such as it becoming economically disadvantageous to the Transporter, a failure to obtain or maintain all necessary permits, approvals and licenses for the construction orand operation, mechanical or structural failures, inadvertent damages during construction, natural disasters, or any terrorist attack, including cyberterrorism, affecting the Pipeline or the Transporter. Any such delays in the construction of the Pipeline could delay the development of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and its becoming operational.

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We may be subject to risks related to doing business in, and having counterparties based in, foreign countries.

We may engage in operations or make substantial commitments to and investments in, and enter into agreements with, counterparties located outside the U.S., which would expose us to political, governmental and economic instability and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

  We also may participate in global carbon capture credit markets to the extent those develop and become available to our CCS projects or their customers.

Any disruption caused by these factors could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects. Risks associated with potential operations, commitments and investments outside of the U.S. include but are not limited to risks of:

currency exchange restrictions and currency fluctuations;

war or terrorist attack;

expropriation or nationalization of assets;

renegotiation or nullification of existing contracts or international trade arrangements;

changing political conditions;

macro-economic conditions impacting key markets and sources of supply;

changing laws and policies affecting trade, taxation, financial regulation, immigration, and investment;

the implementation of tariffs by the U.S. or foreign countries in which we do business;

duplicative taxation by different governments;

general hazards associated with the assertion of sovereignty over areas in which operations are conducted, transactions occur, or counterparties are located; and

the unexpected credit rating downgrade of countries in which our LNG customers are based.

currency exchange restrictions and currency fluctuations;
war or terrorist attack;
expropriation or nationalization of assets;
renegotiation or nullification of existing contracts or international trade arrangements;
changing political conditions;
macro-economic conditions impacting key markets and sources of supply;
changing laws and policies affecting trade, taxation, incentives, financial regulation, immigration, and investment, including laws and policies regarding the verification and trading of carbon capture credits;
the implementation of tariffs by the U.S. or foreign countries in which we do business;
duplicative taxation by different governments;
general hazards associated with the assertion of sovereignty over areas in which operations are conducted, transactions occur, or counterparties are located; and
the unexpected credit rating downgrade of countries in which our LNG customers are based.
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As our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, any operations conducted outside the U.S. or transactions denominated in foreign currencies would face additional risks of fluctuating currency values and exchange rates, hard currency shortages and controls on currency exchange. In addition, we would be subject to the impact of foreign currency fluctuations and exchange rate changes on our financial reports when translating our assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses from operations or transactions outside of the U.S. into U.S. dollars at the then-applicable exchange rates. These translations could result in changes to our results of operations from period to period.

Costs for the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects are subject to various factors.

Construction costs for the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects will be subject to various factors such as economic and market conditions, government policy, claims and litigation risk, competition, the final terms of any definitive agreement for services with our EPC service provider,providers, change orders, delays in construction, legal and regulatory requirements, unanticipated regulatory delays, site issues, increased component and material costs, escalation of labor costs, labor disputes, increased spending to maintain our construction scheduleschedules and other factors. In particular, costs for the Terminal are expected to be substantially affected by:

global prices of nickel, steel, concrete, pipe, aluminum and other component parts of the Terminal

global prices of nickel, steel, concrete, pipe, aluminum and other component parts of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects and the contractual terms upon which our contractors are able to source and procure required materials;

any U.S. import tariffs or quotas on steel, aluminum, pipe or other component parts of the Terminal, which may raise the prices of certain materials used in the Terminal;

commodity and consumer prices (principally, natural gas, crude oil and fuels that compete with them in our target markets) on which our economic assumptions are based;

the exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar with other currencies;

changes in regulatory regimes in the U.S. and the countries to which we will be authorized to sell LNG;

levels of competition in the U.S. and worldwide;

changes in the tax regimes in the countries to which we sell LNG or in which we operate;

cost inflation relating to the personnel, materials and equipment used in our operations;

delays caused by events of force majeure or unforeseeable climatic events;

interest rates; and

synergy benefits associated with the development of multiple phases of the Terminal using identical design and construction philosophies.

In addition to source and procure required materials;

any U.S. import tariffs or quotas on steel, aluminum, pipe or other component parts of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects, which may raise the prices of certain materials used in the Rio Grande LNG Facility;
commodity and consumer prices (principally, natural gas, crude oil and fuels that compete with them in our willingnesstarget markets) on which our economic assumptions are based;
the exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar with other currencies;
changes in regulatory regimes in the U.S. and the countries to makewhich we will be authorized to sell LNG;
changes in regulatory regimes in the U.S. and the countries that seek to develop and regulate a FIDmarket for the trading of global carbon capture credits;
levels of competition in the U.S. and worldwide;
changes in the tax regimes in the countries to which we sell LNG or in which we operate;
cost inflation relating to the personnel, materials and equipment used in our abilityoperations;
delays caused by events of force majeure or unforeseeable climatic events;
interest rates; and
synergy benefits associated with the development of multiple phases of the Rio Grande LNG Facility using identical design and construction philosophies.
Our EPC agreements for Phase 1 allocate certain cost risks to construct the Terminal and achieve operations,Bechtel; however, events related to suchthe above activities may cause actual costs of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility to vary from the range, combination and timing of assumptions used for projected costs of the Terminal.Rio Grande LNG Facility, in addition to affecting our willingness to make a positive FID on future phases of development at the Rio Grande LNG Facility or on CCS projects. Such variations may be material and adverse, and an investor may lose all or a portion of its investment.

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The construction and operation of the Terminal remains subject to further governmental approvals, and some approvals may be subject to further conditions, review and/or revocation and other legal and regulatory risks, which may result in delays, increased costs or decreased cash flows.

We are required to obtain governmental approvals and authorizations to implement our proposed business strategy, which includes the design, construction and operation of the Terminal and the export of LNG from the U.S. to foreign countries. As described above under “Business− Governmental Permits, Approvals and Authorizations,” the design, construction and operation of LNG export terminals is a highly regulated activity in the U.S., subject to a number of permitting requirements, regulatory approvals and ongoing safety and operational compliance programs. There is no guarantee that we will obtain or, if obtained, maintain these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits. Failure to obtain, or failure to obtain on a timely basis, or failure to maintain any of these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Authorizations obtained from the FERC, the DOE and other federal and state regulatory agencies also contain ongoing conditions, and additional approval and permit requirements may be imposed. We do not know whether or when any such approvals or permits can be obtained, or whether any existing or potential interventions or other actions by third parties will interfere with our ability to obtain and maintain such permits or approvals. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the necessary approvals and permits, including as a result of untimely notices or filings, we may not be able to recover our investment in the Terminal. Additionally, government disruptions, such as a U.S. government shutdown, may delay or halt our ability to obtain and maintain necessary approvals and permits. There is no assurance that we will obtain and maintain these governmental permits, approvals and authorizations, or that we will be able to obtain them on a timely basis, and failure to obtain and maintain any of these permits, approvals or authorizations could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

In addition, some of these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits require extensive environmental review. Some groups have perceived, and other groups could perceive, that the proposed construction and operation of the Terminal could negatively impact the environment or cultural heritage sites. Objections from such groups could cause delays, damage to reputation and difficulties in obtaining governmental authorizations, approvals or permits or prevent the obtaining of such authorizations, approvals or permits altogether. Although the necessary authorizations, approvals and permits to construct and operate the Terminal may be obtained, such authorizations, approvals and permits may be subject to ongoing conditions imposed by regulatory agencies or may be subject to legal proceedings not involving us, which is customary for U.S. LNG projects.

The Terminal will be subject to a number of environmental laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs, and existing and future environmental and similar laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs, liabilities or additional operating restrictions.

Our business will be subject to extensive federal, state and local regulations and laws, including regulations and restrictions on discharges and releases to the air, land and water and the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes in connection with the development, construction and operation of its liquefaction facilities. These regulations and laws will require us to maintain permits, provide governmental authorities with access to its facilities for inspection and provide reports related to its compliance. Violation of these laws and regulations could lead to substantial fines and penalties or to capital expenditures related to pollution control or remediation equipment that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects. Federal and state laws impose liability, without regard to fault or the lawfulness of the original conduct, for the release of certain types or quantities of hazardous substances into the environment. As the owner and operator of the Terminal, we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up hazardous substances released into the environment and for damage to natural resources.

In addition, future federal, state and local legislation and regulations, such as regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions and the transportation of LNG may impose unforeseen burdens and increased costs on our business that could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. As an international shipper of LNG, our operations could also be impacted by environmental laws applicable under international treaties or foreign jurisdictions.

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Changes in legislation and regulations or interpretations thereof, such as those relating to the importation and exportation of LNG, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects and could cause additional expenditures and delays in connection with the proposed LNG facilities and their construction.

The laws, rules and regulations applicable to our business, including federal agencies’ interpretations of and policies under such laws rules and regulations, are subject to change, either through new or modified regulations enacted on the federal, state or local level or by a change in policy of the agencies charged with enforcing such regulations. For example, the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that codified the FERC’s policy of not regulating the terms and conditions of service for LNG import or export facilities expired in 2015. Although the FERC has not indicated that it intends to depart from this policy, there can be no assurance it will not do so in the future. The nature and extent of any changes in these laws, rules, regulations and policies may be unpredictable and may have material effects on our business. Future legislation and regulations or changes in existing legislation and regulations, or interpretations thereof, such as those relating to the liquefaction, storage, or regasification of LNG, or its transportation, could cause additional expenditures, restrictions and delays in connection with our operations as well as other future projects, the extent of which cannot be predicted and which may require us to limit substantially, delay or cease operations in some circumstances. Revised, reinterpreted or additional laws and regulations that result in increased compliance costs or additional operating costs and restrictions could have an adverse effect on our business, the ability to expand our business, including into new markets, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

We will be dependent on third-party contractors for the successful completion of the Terminal,Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects, and these contractors may be unable to complete the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects or may build a non-conforming Terminal.

Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects.

The construction of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is expected to take several years, will be confined to a limited geographic area and could be subject to delays, cost overruns, labor disputes and other factors that could adversely affect financial performance or impair our ability to execute our scheduled business plan.

Timely and cost-effective completion of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and any CCS projects in conformity with agreed-upon specifications will be highly dependent upon the performance of third-party contractors pursuant to their agreements. However, weWe have not yet entered into definitive agreements with certain of the contractors, advisors and consultants necessary for the development and construction for future phases of development at the Terminal.Rio Grande LNG Facility or any CCS projects. We may not be able to successfully enter into such construction contractsagreements on terms or at prices that are acceptable to us.

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Further, faulty construction that does not conform to our design and quality standards may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. For example, improper equipment installation may lead to a shortened life of our equipment, increased operations and maintenance costs or a reduced availability or production capacity of the affected facility. The ability of our third-party contractors to perform successfully under any agreements to be entered into is dependent on a number of factors, including force majeure events and such contractors’ ability to:

design, engineer and receive critical components and equipment necessary for the Terminal to operate in accordance with specifications and address any start-up and operational issues that may arise in connection with the commencement of commercial operations;

attract, develop and retain skilled personnel and engage and retain third-party subcontractors, and address any labor issues that may arise;

post required construction bonds and comply with the terms thereof, and maintain their own financial condition, including adequate working capital;

adhere to any warranties the contractors provide in their EPC contracts; and

respond to difficulties such as equipment failure, delivery delays, schedule changes and failure to perform by subcontractors, some of which are beyond their control, and manage the construction process generally, including engaging and retaining third-party contractors, coordinating with other contractors and regulatory agencies and dealing with inclement weather conditions.

design, engineer and receive critical components and equipment necessary for the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects to operate in accordance with specifications and address any start-up and operational issues that may arise in connection with the commencement of commercial operations;
attract, develop and retain skilled personnel and engage and retain third-party subcontractors, and address any labor issues that may arise;
post required construction bonds and comply with the terms thereof, and maintain their own financial condition, including adequate working capital;
adhere to any warranties the contractors provide in their EPC contracts; and
respond to difficulties such as equipment failure, delivery delays, schedule changes and failure to perform by subcontractors, some of which are beyond their control, and manage the construction process generally, including engaging and retaining third-party contractors, coordinating with other contractors and regulatory agencies and dealing with inclement weather conditions.
Furthermore, we may have disagreements with our third-party contractors about different elements of the construction process, which could lead to the assertion of rights and remedies under the related contracts, resulting in a contractor’s unwillingness to perform further work on the relevant project. We may also face difficulties in commissioning a newly constructed facility.facility at the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Any of the foregoing issues or significant project delays in the development or construction of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and, to the extent applicable, CCS projects could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our ability to generate cash is substantially dependent upon us entering into satisfactory contracts with third parties and the performance of those third parties under those contracts.

We have entered into nine commercial arrangements with customers for products and services from the Rio Grande LNG Facility, each of which is subject to preconditions including the Rio Grande LNG Facility becoming operational. We are dependent on each customer’s continued willingness and ability to perform its obligations under its sale and purchase agreement. We are also exposed to the credit risk of any guarantor of these customers’ obligations under their respective sale and purchase agreement in the event that we must seek recourse under a guaranty. If any customer fails to perform its obligations under its sale and purchase agreement, our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects could be materially and adversely affected, even if we were ultimately successful in seeking damages from that customer or its guarantor for a breach of the sale and purchase agreement.
We have not yet entered into any definitive commercial arrangements with third parties desiring to install our CCS systems in their industrial facilities. We also have not entered into, and may never be able to enter into, satisfactory commercial arrangements with third-party suppliers of feedstock or other required supplies to the Terminal, or customers for products and services from the Terminal.

Rio Grande LNG Facility.

Our business strategy regarding how and when the Terminal’sRio Grande LNG Facility’s export capacity or, LNG produced by the Terminal isRio Grande LNG Facility, or CCS systems are marketed may change based on market factors. Without limitation, our business strategy may change due to inability to enter into agreements with customers or based on our or market participants’ views regarding future supply and demand of LNG, prices, available worldwide natural gas liquefaction capacity or regasification capacity, the availability and efficiency of a market for carbon capture credits or other factors. If efforts to market the Terminal’s export capacity or LNG produced by the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility, the Rio Grande LNG Facility’s expansion export capacity, or our CCS systems are not successful, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

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Our exposure to the performance and credit risks of Contentscounterparties may adversely affect our operating results, liquidity and access to financing.
Our operations involve our entering into various construction, purchase and sale, supply and other transactions with numerous third parties. In such arrangements, we will be exposed to the performance and credit risks of our counterparties, including the risk that one or more counterparties fail to perform their obligations under the applicable agreement. Some of these risks may increase during periods of commodity price volatility. In some cases, we will be dependent on a single counterparty or a small group of counterparties, all of whom may be similarly affected by changes in economic and other conditions. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks related to the construction discussed above in “We will be dependent on third-party contractors for the successful completion of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects, and these contractors may be unable to complete the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects or may build a non-conforming Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects.” Defaults by suppliers, customers and other counterparties may adversely affect our operating results, liquidity and access to additional financing.

Our construction and operations activities will be subject to a number of development risks, operational hazards, regulatory approvals and other risks which may not be fully covered by insurance, and which could cause cost overruns and delays that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Siting, development

Development and construction of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects will be subject to the risks of delay or cost overruns inherent in any construction project resulting from numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the following:

difficulties or delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain, sufficient debt or equity financing on reasonable terms;

failure to obtain all necessary government and third-party permits, approvals and licenses for the construction and operation of any of the proposed LNG facilities;

failure to obtain sale and purchase agreements that generate sufficient revenue to support the financing and construction of the Terminal;

difficulties in engaging qualified contractors necessary to the construction of the contemplated Terminal or other LNG facilities;

shortages of equipment, materials or skilled labor;

natural disasters and catastrophes, such as hurricanes, explosions, fires, floods, industrial accidents and terrorism;

delays in the delivery of ordered materials;

work stoppages and labor disputes;

competition with other domestic and international LNG export terminals;

unanticipated changes in domestic and international market demand for and supply of natural gas and LNG, which will depend in part on supplies of and prices for alternative energy sources and the discovery of new sources of natural resources;

unexpected or unanticipated additional improvements; and

adverse general economic conditions.

difficulties or delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain, sufficient debt or equity financing on reasonable terms;
failure to obtain or maintain all necessary government and third-party permits, approvals and licenses, or to comply with all the terms and conditions of those authorizations, for the construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects;
failure to obtain or maintain commercial agreements that generate sufficient revenue to support the financing and construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects;
difficulties in engaging qualified contractors necessary to the construction of the contemplated Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects;
shortages of equipment, materials or skilled labor;
natural disasters and catastrophes, such as hurricanes, explosions, fires, floods, industrial accidents and terrorism;
delays in the delivery of ordered materials;
work stoppages and labor disputes;
opposition from environmental and social groups, landowners, tribal groups, local groups and other advocates could result in organized protests, attempts to block or sabotage our construction activities or operations, intervention in regulatory or administrative proceedings involving our assets, or lawsuits or other actions designed to prevent, disrupt or delay the construction or operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects;
competition with other domestic and international LNG export facilities;
unanticipated changes in domestic and international market demand for and supply of natural gas and LNG, which will depend in part on supplies of and prices for alternative energy sources and the discovery of new sources of natural resources;
insufficiency in domestic and international market demand for verified carbon capture credits;
unexpected or unanticipated additional improvements; and
adverse general economic conditions.
Delays beyond the estimated development periods, as well as cost overruns, could increase the cost of completion beyond the amounts that are currently estimated, which could require us to obtain additional sources of financing to fund the activities until the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is constructed and operational, which could cause further delays. The need for additional financing may also make the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility uneconomic. Any delay in completion of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility may also cause a delay in the receipt of revenues projected from the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility or cause a loss of one or more customers. As a result, any significant construction delay, whatever the cause, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

Our

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Rio Grande LNG Facility operations will be subject to all of the hazards inherent in the receipt and processing of natural gas to LNG, and associated short-term storage including:

damage to pipelines and plants, related equipment, loading terminal, and surrounding properties caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and other natural disasters, acts of terrorism and acts of third parties;

damage from subsurface and/or waterway activity (for example, sedimentation of shipping channel access);

leaks of natural gas, natural gas liquids, or oil or losses of natural gas, natural gas liquid, or oil as a result of the malfunction of equipment or facilities;

fires, ruptures and explosions;

other hazards that could also result in personal injury and loss of life, pollution and suspension of operations; and

hazards experienced by other operators that may affect our operations by instigating increased regulations and oversight.

damage to pipelines and plants, related equipment, loading terminal, and surrounding properties caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and other natural disasters, acts of terrorism and acts of third parties;
damage from subsurface and/or waterway activity (for example, sedimentation of shipping channel access);
leaks of natural gas, or natural gas liquids, or losses of natural gas, or natural gas liquids, as a result of the malfunction of equipment or facilities;
fires, ruptures and explosions;
other hazards that could also result in personal injury and loss of life, pollution and suspension of operations; and
hazards experienced by other operators that may affect our operations by instigating increased regulations and oversight.
Any of these risks could adversely affect our ability to conduct operations or result in substantial loss to us as a result of claims for:

injury or loss of life;

damage to and destruction of property, natural resources and equipment;

pollution and other environmental damage;

regulatory investigations and penalties;

suspension of our operations;

failure to perform contractual obligations; and

repair and remediation costs.

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damage to and destruction of property, natural resources and equipment;

pollution and other environmental damage;
regulatory investigations and penalties;
suspension of our operations;
failure to perform contractual obligations; and
repair and remediation costs.
Due to the scale of the Terminal,Rio Grande LNG Facility, we may encounter capacity limits in insurance markets, thereby limiting our ability to economically obtain insurance with our desired level of coverage limits and terms. WeWith respect to the Rio Grande LNG Facility or CCS projects, we may elect not to obtain insurance for any or all of these risks if we believe that the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the risks presented. In addition, contractual liabilities and pollution and environmental risks generally are not fully insurable. The occurrence of an event that is not fully covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may experience increased labor costs, and the unavailability of skilled workers or our failure to attract and retain qualified personnel could adversely affect us. In addition, changes in our senior management or other key personnel could affect our business operations.

We are dependent upon the available labor pool of skilled employees authorized to work in the U.S. We compete with other energy companies and other employers to attract and retain qualified personnel with the technical skills and experience required to construct and operate our facilities and pipelines and to provide our customers with the highest quality service. A shortage in the labor pool of skilled workers able to legally work in the U.S. or other general inflationary pressures or changes in applicable laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified personnel and could require an increase in the wage and benefits packages that we offer, thereby increasing our operating costs. Any increase in our operating costs could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

We depend on our executive officers for various activities. We do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our personnel. Although we have arrangements relating to compensation and benefits with certain of our executive officers, we do not have any employment contracts or other agreements with key personnel binding them to provide services for any particular term. The loss of the services of any of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Technological innovation, competition or other factors may negatively impact our anticipated competitive advantage or our processes.

Our success will depend on our ability to create and maintain a competitive position in the natural gas liquefaction industry.and carbon capture and storage industries. We do not have any exclusive rights to any of the liquefaction technologies that we will be utilizing.utilizing in the Rio Grande LNG Facility. In addition, the LNG technology we anticipateare using in the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility may face competition due to the technological advances of other companies or solutions, including more efficient and cost-effective processes or entirely different approaches developed by one or more of our competitors or others. Although we have applied for and obtained patents relating to our CCS processes and rely on other procedures to protect our intellectual property, we may be unable to prevent third parties from utilizing our intellectual property; see “— We depend on our intellectual property for our CCS projects, and our failure to protect that intellectual property could adversely affect the future growth and success of our CCS business.
Continuing technological changes in the market for carbon capture solutions could make our CCS projects less competitive or obsolete, either generally or for particular applications. Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and enhancements to our CCS offerings to address the changing needs of the carbon capture markets. Delays in introducing enhancements, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives or the failure to offer innovative products or enhancements at competitive prices may cause existing and potential customers to utilize competing projects or solutions.
We depend on our intellectual property for our CCS projects, and our failure to protect that intellectual property could adversely affect the future growth and success of our CCS business.
We rely on a combination of internal procedures, nondisclosure agreements, licenses, patents, trademarks and copyright law to protect our intellectual property and know-how. Our intellectual property rights may not be successfully asserted in the future or may be invalidated, circumvented or challenged. For example, we frequently explore and evaluate potential relationships and projects with other parties, which often require that we provide the potential partner with confidential technical information.
While confidentiality agreements are typically put in place, there is a risk the potential partner could violate the confidentiality agreement and use our technical information for its own benefit or the benefit of others whichor compromise the confidentiality. We have applied for and obtained some U.S. patents and will continue to evaluate the registration of additional patents, as appropriate. We cannot guarantee that any of our pending applications will be approved. Moreover, even if the applications are approved, third parties may seek to oppose or otherwise challenge them. A failure to obtain registrations in the United States or elsewhere could affectlimit our ability to protect our proprietary processes and could impede our business. Further, the protection of our intellectual property may require expensive investment in protracted litigation and the investment of substantial management time and there is no assurance we ultimately would prevail or that a successful outcome would lead to an economic benefit that is greater than the investment in the litigation.
In addition, we may be unable to prevent third parties from using our intellectual property rights and know-how without our authorization or from independently developing intellectual property that is the same as or similar to ours. The unauthorized use of our know-how by third parties could reduce or eliminate any competitive advantage we have developed, cause us to lose sales or otherwise harm our CCS business results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

or increase our expenses as we attempt to enforce our rights.

Failure of exported LNG to be a competitive source of energy for international markets could adversely affect our customers and could materially and adversely affect our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

Operations of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility will be dependent upon our ability to deliver LNG supplies from the U.S., which is primarily dependent upon LNG being a competitive source of energy internationally. The success of our business planthe Rio Grande LNG Facility is dependent, in part, on the extent to which LNG can, for significant periods and in significant volumes, be supplied from North America and delivered to international markets at a lower cost than the cost of alternative energy sources. Through the use of improved exploration technologies, additional sources of natural gas may be discovered outside the U.S., which could increase the available supply of natural gas outside the U.S. and could result in natural gas in those markets being available at a lower cost than that of LNG exported to those markets.

The price of domestic natural gas, which is subject to change for reasons outside our control, also affects the competitiveness of U.S.-sourced LNG exports.

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Additionally, our liquefaction projectsthe Rio Grande LNG Facility will be subject to the risk of LNG price competition at times when we need to replace any existing LNG sale and purchase contract, whether due to natural expiration, default or otherwise, or enter into new LNG sale and purchase contracts. Factors relating to competition may prevent us from entering into a new or replacement LNG sale and purchase contract on economically comparable terms as prior LNG sale and purchase contracts, or at all. Factors which may negatively affect potential demand for LNG from our liquefaction projects are diverse and include, among others:

increases in worldwide LNG production capacity and availability of LNG for market supply;

decreases in demand for LNG or increases in demand for LNG, but at levels below those required to maintain current price equilibrium with respect to supply;

increases in the cost of natural gas feedstock supplied to any project;

decreases in the cost of competing sources of natural gas or alternate sources of energy such as coal, heavy fuel oil, diesel, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar;

decrease in the price of non-U.S. LNG, including decreases in price as a result of contracts indexed to lower oil prices;

increases in capacity and utilization of nuclear power and related facilities;

increases in the cost of LNG shipping; and

displacement of LNG by pipeline natural gas or alternate fuels in locations where access to these energy sources is not currently available.

increases in worldwide LNG production capacity and availability of LNG for market supply;
decreases in demand for LNG or increases in demand for LNG, but at levels below those required to maintain current price equilibrium with respect to supply;
increases in the cost of natural gas feedstock supplied to any project;
decreases in the cost of competing sources of natural gas or alternate sources of energy such as coal, heavy fuel oil, diesel, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar;
decrease in the price of non-U.S. LNG, including decreases in price as a result of contracts indexed to lower oil prices;
increases in capacity and utilization of nuclear power and related facilities;
increases in the cost of LNG shipping; and
displacement of LNG by pipeline natural gas or alternate fuels in locations where access to these energy sources is not currently available.
Political instability in foreign countries that import natural gas, or strained relations between such countries and the U.S. may also impede the willingness or ability of LNG suppliers, purchasers and merchants in such countries to import LNG from the U.S. Furthermore, some foreign purchasers of LNG may have economic or other reasons to obtain their LNG from non-U.S. markets or our competitors’ liquefaction facilities in the U.S.

As a result of these and other factors, LNG may not be a competitive source of energy internationally. The failure of LNG to be a competitive supply alternative to local natural gas, oil and other alternative energy sources in markets accessible to our customers could adversely affect the ability of our customers to deliver LNG from the U.S. on a commercial basis. Any significant impediment to the ability to deliver LNG from the U.S. generally or from the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility specifically could have a material adverse effect on our customers and our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

Decreases in the global demand for and price of natural gas (versus the price of imported LNG) could lead to reduced development of LNG projects worldwide.

We are subject to risks associated with the development, operation and financing of domestic LNG facilities. The development of domestic LNG facilities and projects is generally based on assumptions about the future price of natural gas and LNG and the conditions of the global natural gas and LNG markets. Natural gas and LNG prices have been, and are likely to remain in the future, volatile and subject to wide fluctuations that are difficult to predict. As a result, our activities will expose us to risks of commodity price movements, which we believe could be mitigated by entering into long-term LNG sales contracts. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in entering into or maintaining long-term LNG sales contracts. Additionally, the global LNG market could shift toward the use of shorter-term LNG sales contracts.

Fluctuations in commodity prices may create a mismatch between natural gas and petroleum prices, which could have a significant impact on our future revenues. Commodity prices and volumes are volatile due to many factors over which we have no control, including competing liquefaction capacity in North America; the international supply and receiving capacity of LNG; LNG marine transportation capacity; weather conditions affecting production or transportation of LNG from the Terminal;Rio Grande LNG Facility; domestic and global demand for natural gas; the effect of government regulation on the production, transportation and sale of natural gas; oil and natural gas exploration and production activities; and the development of and changes in the cost of alternative energy sources for natural gas and political and economic conditions worldwide.

Our activities are also dependent on the price and availability of materials for the construction of the Terminal,Rio Grande LNG Facility, such as nickel, aluminum, pipe, and steel, which may be subject to import tariffs in the U.S. market and are all also subject to factors affecting commodity prices and volumes. In addition, authorities with jurisdiction over wholesale power rates in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, as well as independent system operators overseeing some of these markets, may impose price limitations, bidding rules and other mechanisms which may adversely impact or otherwise limit trading
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margins and lead to diminished opportunities for gain. We cannot predict the impact energy trading may have on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Further, the development of liquefaction facilitiesthe Rio Grande LNG Facility takes a substantial amount of time, requires significant capital investment, may be delayed by unforeseen and uncontrollable factors and is dependent on our financial viability and ability to market LNG internationally.

The reduction or elimination of government incentives could adversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and cash flows.
We expect our CCS projects, following successful construction and deployment, to generate revenue from a combination of sources, including fees from source facilities, government incentives and carbon credits. Government incentives include federal income tax credits under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code, which currently provides a federal income tax credit per metric ton of carbon captured and permanently stored. The availability of these government incentives have a significant effect on the economics and viability of our CCS projects, and any reduction or elimination of such incentives could adversely affect the growth of our CCS business, our financial condition and our future results.
Competition in the LNG industryindustries in which we operate is intense, and some of our competitors have greater financial, technological and other resources.

We plan to operate in the highly competitive area of LNG production and face intense competition from independent, technology-driven companies as well as from both major and other independent oil and natural gas companies and utilities.

Many competing companies have secured access to, or are pursuing development or acquisition of, LNG facilities and deployment of carbon capture processes in North America. We may face competition from major energy companies and others in pursuing our proposed business strategy to provide liquefaction and export products and services at the Terminal. In addition, competitors have and are developing LNG terminals in other markets, which will compete with U.S. LNG facilities.strategy. Some of these competitors have longer operating histories, more development experience, greater name recognition, superior tax incentives, more employees and substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we currently possess. NEXT Carbon Solutions will compete with other providers of CCS services, traditional original equipment manufacturers, EPC firms and midstream transportation and storage companies in offering CCS solutions.  Our competitors in the CCS space may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we currently possess.  The superior resources that some of these competitors have available for deployment could allow them to compete successfully against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

There may be shortages of LNG vessels worldwide, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

The construction and delivery of LNG vessels requires significant capital and long construction lead times, and the availability of the vessels could be delayed to the detriment of our business and customers due to the following:

an inadequate number of shipyards constructing LNG vessels and a backlog of orders at these shipyards;

political or economic disturbances in the countries where the vessels are being constructed;

changes in governmental regulations or maritime self-regulatory organizations;

work stoppages or other labor disturbances at the shipyards;

bankruptcies or other financial crises of shipbuilders;

quality or engineering problems;

weather interference or catastrophic events, such as a major earthquake, tsunami, or fire; or

shortages of or delays in the receipt of necessary construction materials.

an inadequate number of shipyards constructing LNG vessels and a backlog of orders at these shipyards;
political or economic disturbances in the countries where the vessels are being constructed;
changes in governmental regulations or maritime self-regulatory organizations;
work stoppages or other labor disturbances at the shipyards;
bankruptcies or other financial crises of shipbuilders;
quality or engineering problems;
weather interference or catastrophic events, such as a major earthquake, tsunami, or fire; or
shortages of or delays in the receipt of necessary construction materials.
We will rely on third-party engineers to estimate the future capacity ratings and performance capabilities of the Terminal,Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects, and these estimates may prove to be inaccurate.

We will rely on third parties for the design and engineering services underlying our estimates of the future capacity ratings and performance capabilities of the Terminal.Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects. Any of our LNGsuch facilities, when constructed, may not have the capacity ratings and performance capabilities that we intend or estimate. Failure of any of our facilities to achieve our intended capacity ratings and performance capabilities could prevent us from achieving the commercial start dates or otherwise impact the generation of revenue under our future LNG sale and purchasecommercial agreements and could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

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Carbon credit markets may not develop as quickly or efficiently as we anticipate or at all.
The continued development of Contents

Terrorist attacks, including cyberterrorism, or military campaigns involving us orglobal carbon credit marketplaces will be crucial for the Terminal could result in delays in, or cancellationsuccessful deployment of construction or closureour CCS processes, as we expect carbon credits to be a significant source of future revenue. The efficiency of the Project.

A terrorist or military incident involvingvoluntary carbon credit market is currently affected by several concerns, including insufficiency of demand, the Terminal may result in delays in, or cancellationrisk that reduction credits could be counted multiple times and a lack of constructionstandardization of credit verification. Delayed development of a global carbon credit market could negatively impact the commercial viability of our CCS projects and could limit the growth of the Terminal, which would increase our costs and prevent us from obtaining expected cash flows. A terrorist incident could also result in temporary or permanent closure of the Terminal, which could increase costs and decrease cash flows, depending on the duration of the closure. Operations at the Terminal could also become subject to increased governmental scrutiny that may result in additional security measures at a significant incremental cost. In addition, the threat of terrorism and the impact of military campaigns may lead to continued volatility in prices for natural gas that could adversely affect our business and customers, including the ability ofadversely impact our suppliers or customers to satisfy their respective obligations under our commercial agreements. Instability in the financial markets as a result of terrorism, including cyberterrorism, or war could also materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital. The continuation of these developments may subject our construction and operations to increased risks, as well as increased costs, and, depending on their ultimate magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

future results.

The operation of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and any CCS project may be subject to significant operating hazards and uninsured risks, one or more of which may create significant liabilities and losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

The plan of operations for the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is subject to the inherent risks associated with LNG operations, including explosions, pollution, release of toxic substances, fires, hurricanes and other adverse weather conditions, and other hazards, each of which could result in significant delays in commencement or interruptions of operations and/or result in damage to or destruction of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and assets or damage to persons and property.

  These risks may similarly affect CCS projects and their host facilities.

We do not, nor do we intend to, maintain insurance against all these risks and losses. We may not be able to maintain desired or required insurance in the future at rates that we consider reasonable. The occurrence of a significant event not fully insured or indemnified against could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.

We are dependent on a limited number of customers for the purchase of LNG.

The number of potential LNG customers is limited. Some potential purchasers of the LNG to be produced from the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility are new to the LNG business and have limited experience in the industry. We will be reliant upon the ability of these customers to enter into satisfactory downstream arrangements in their home markets for the licenses to import and sell re-gasifiedregasified LNG. Some of these jurisdictions are heavily regulated and dominated by state entities. In certain instances, customers may require credit enhancement measures in order to satisfy project-financing requirements.

Objections from local communities or environmental groups can delay the Terminal.

Rio Grande LNG Facility.

Some local communities and/or environmental groups could perceivehave voiced opposition to the proposed construction and operation of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility as negatively impacting the environment, wildlife, cultural heritage sites or the public health of residents. Objections from local communities or environmental groups could cause delays, limit access to or increase the cost of construction capital, cause reputational damage and impede us in obtaining or renewing permits.

  For instance, environmental activists have attempted to intervene in the permitting process of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and persuade regulators to deny necessary permits or seek to overturn permits that have been issued. These third-party actions can materially increase the costs and cause delays in the permitting process and could cause us to not proceed with the development of the Rio Grande LNG Facility.

The TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility will be dependent on the availability of gas supply at the Agua Dulce supply area.

The Pipeline is expected to collect and transport natural gas to the Terminal.Rio Grande LNG Facility. The header system at the upstream end of the Pipeline is expected to have multiple interconnects to the existing natural gas pipeline grid located in the Agua Dulce supply area (the “Agua Dulce Hub”). The Agua Dulce Hub includes deliveries from, but not limited to, ConocoPhillip’sConocoPhillips' 1,100-mile South Texas intrastate and gas gathering pipeline system and ExxonMobil’s 925 MMcf/d King Ranch processing facility. As the Pipeline system interconnects are expected to be relatively close to the Agua Dulce Hub, it is expected that gas will be available for purchase in large volumes at commercially acceptable prices. Nonetheless, disruptions in upstream supply sources or increased market demand could impact the availability of gas supply to the Pipeline header system, which would result in curtailments at the Terminal.

Rio Grande LNG Facility.

Each liquefaction train for the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility is expected to involve the transportation andon the Pipeline for liquefaction of approximately 0.9 Bcf/day of natural gas, for a total of 4.5 Bcf/day for five liquefaction trains at full build-out. Gas sales agreements for the supply of these volumes could entail negotiations with multiple parties for firm and interruptible gas supply and transportation services to the Pipeline header system, as well as pipeline interconnects and ancillary operational agreements. Delays caused by third parties in the course of negotiating agreements and constructing the required interconnects could delay the start of commercial operations for the Terminal.

Rio Grande LNG Facility.

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Litigation could expose us to significant costs and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We are, or may become, party to various lawsuits, arbitrations, mediations, regulatory proceedings and claims, which may include lawsuits, arbitrations, mediations, regulatory proceedings or claims relating to commercial liability, product recalls, product liability, product claims, employment matters, environmental matters, breach of contract, intellectual property, indemnification, stockholder suits, derivative actions or other aspects of our business.
Litigation (including the other types of proceedings identified above) is inherently unpredictable, and although we may believe we have meaningful defenses in these matters, we may incur judgments or enter into settlements of claims that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The costs of responding to or defending litigation may be significant and may divert the attention of management away from our strategic objectives. There may also be adverse publicity associated with litigation that may decrease customer confidence in our business or our management, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are ultimately found liable.
Risks Related to Governmental Regulation
The construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility remains subject to further governmental approvals, and some approvals may be subject to further conditions, review and/or revocation and other legal and regulatory risks, which may result in delays, increased costs or decreased cash flows.
We are required to obtain governmental approvals and authorizations to implement our proposed business strategy, which includes the design, construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and the export of LNG from the U.S. to foreign countries. As described above under “Business− Governmental Permits, Approvals and Authorizations,” the design, construction and operation of LNG export facilities is a highly regulated activity in the U.S., subject to a number of permitting requirements, regulatory approvals and ongoing safety and operational compliance programs. There is no guarantee that we will obtain or, once obtained, maintain these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits. While the FERC has authorized the construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, additional approvals from FERC Staff will be required as we proceed with its construction and commissioning. Failure to obtain, or failure to obtain on a timely basis, or failure to maintain any of these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
Authorizations obtained from the FERC, the DOE and other federal and state regulatory agencies also contain ongoing conditions and compliance requirements, and additional approval and permit requirements may be imposed. We do not know whether or when any such approvals or permits can be obtained, or whether any existing or potential interventions or other actions by third parties will interfere with our ability to obtain and maintain such permits or approvals. If we are unable to obtain and maintain the necessary approvals and permits, including as a result of untimely notices or filings, we may not be able to recover our investment in the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Additionally, government disruptions, such as a U.S. government shutdown or the lack of quorum to issue decisions in regulatory agencies, may delay or halt our ability to obtain and maintain necessary approvals and permits. There is no assurance that we will obtain and maintain these governmental permits, approvals and authorizations, or that we will be able to obtain them on a timely basis, and failure to obtain and maintain any of these permits, approvals or authorizations could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects. In the future, additional regulatory approvals may be required or significant costs may be incurred due to changes in laws and regulations or for other reasons.
In addition, some of these governmental authorizations, approvals and permits require extensive environmental review. We cannot predict or control whether our authorizations, approvals or permits will attract significant opposition or whether the permitting process will be lengthened due to complexities and appeals. Some groups have perceived, and other groups could perceive, that the proposed construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility could negatively impact the environment or cultural heritage sites. Objections from such groups could cause delays, damage to reputation and difficulties in obtaining governmental authorizations, approvals or permits or prevent the obtaining of such authorizations, approvals or permits altogether. Although the necessary authorizations, approvals and permits to construct and operate the Rio Grande LNG Facility have been obtained, such authorizations, approvals and permits may be subject to ongoing conditions imposed by regulatory agencies or may be subject to legal proceedings not involving us, which is customary for U.S. LNG projects.
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The Rio Grande LNG Facility will be subject to a number of environmental laws and regulations that impose significant compliance costs, and existing and future environmental and similar laws and regulations could result in increased compliance costs, liabilities or additional operating restrictions.
Our business will be subject to extensive federal, state and local regulations and laws, including regulations and restrictions on discharges and releases to the air, land and water and the handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes in connection with the development, construction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility.  Failure to comply with these regulations and laws could result in the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal sanctions.
These regulations and laws, which include the federal Clean Air Act, the Oil Pollution Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and analogous state and local laws and regulations, will restrict, prohibit or otherwise regulate the types, quantities and concentration of substances that can be released into the environment in connection with the construction and operation of our facilities. Additionally, these regulations and laws will require and have required us to obtain and maintain permits, with respect to our facilities, prepare environmental impact assessments, provide governmental authorities with access to our facilities for inspection and provide reports related to compliance. Violation of these laws and regulations could lead to substantial liabilities, fines and penalties, the denial or revocation of permits necessary for our operations, governmental orders to shut down our facilities or to capital expenditures related to pollution control or remediation equipment that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects. Federal and state laws impose liability, without regard to fault or the lawfulness of the original conduct, for the release of certain types or quantities of hazardous substances into the environment. As the owner and operator of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS systems, we could be liable for the costs of cleaning up hazardous substances released into the environment and for damage to natural resources.
In addition, future federal, state and local legislation and regulations, such as regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation of LNG, and the sequestration of carbon dioxide may impose unforeseen burdens and increased costs on our business that could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. As an international shipper of LNG, our operations could also be impacted by environmental laws applicable under international treaties or foreign jurisdictions.
Unethical conduct and non-compliance with applicable laws could have a significant adverse effect on our business.

Incidents of unethical behavior, fraudulent activity, corruption or non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations could be damaging to our operations and reputation and may subject us to criminal and civil penalties or loss of operating licenses. We have implemented an anti-corruption policy which applies to all employees and contractors without exception and we are a member of TRACE International, an internationally recognized anti-bribery compliance organization. Our legal team screens potential partners, agents and advisors in multiple databases to which it has access and regularly conducts due diligence interviews with potential counterparties. Due to the global nature of the LNG business and the diversity of jurisdictions in which our customers operate, it is possible that a prospective counterparty could be accused of behavior that falls short of our expectations in this regard, leading to reputational damage and potential legal liabilities, notwithstanding our best efforts to prevent such behaviors.

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TableChanges in legislation and regulations or interpretations thereof, such as those relating to the importation and exportation of Contents

The outbreakLNG and incentives for reduction of COVID-19 and volatility in the energy markets may materially and adversely affectemissions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results ofoperations, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects and could cause additional expenditures and delays in connection with the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects and their construction.

The laws, rules and regulations applicable to our business, including our effortsfederal agencies’ interpretations of and policies under such laws rules and regulations, are subject to reachchange, either through new or modified regulations enacted on the federal, state or local level or by a final investment decision with respect to the Terminal.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and its development into a pandemicchange in March 2020 have resulted in significant disruption globally. Actions taken by various governmental authorities, individuals and companies around the world to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have restricted travel, business operations, and the overall level of individual movement and in-person interaction across the globe. Furthermore, the impactpolicy of the pandemic,agencies charged with enforcing such regulations. For example, the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that codified the FERC’s policy of not regulating the terms and conditions of service for LNG import or export facilities expired in 2015. Although the FERC has not indicated that it intends to depart from this policy, there can be no assurance it will not do so in the future. The nature and extent of any changes in these laws, rules, regulations and policies may be unpredictable and may have material adverse effects on our business. Future legislation and regulations or changes in existing legislation and regulations, or interpretations thereof, such as those relating to (i)  the liquefaction, storage, or regasification of LNG, or its transportation, and (ii) the capture of CO2, its transportation and sequestration, could cause additional expenditures, restrictions and delays in connection with our operations as well as other future projects, the extent of which cannot be predicted and which may require us to limit substantially, delay or cease operations in some circumstances. Revised, reinterpreted or additional laws and regulations that result in increased compliance costs or additional operating costs and restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, the ability to expand our business, including a resultinginto new markets, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and prospects.

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In addition, our CCS systems may benefit from federal, state and local governmental incentives, mandates or other programs promoting the reduction inof emissions. Any changes to or termination of these programs could reduce demand for natural gas, coupled with the sharp decline in commodity prices following the announcement of price reductions and production increases in March 2020 by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) led to significant global economic contraction generally and in our industry in particular. While an agreement to cut production was announced by OPEC and its allies, the situation, coupled with the impact of COVID-19, has continued to result in a significant downturn in the oil and gas industry. Prospects for the development and financing of the Terminal are based in part on factors including global economic conditions that have been, and are likely to continue to be, adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to modify our business practices, including by restricting employee travel, requiring employees to work remotely and cancelling physical participation in meetings, events and conferences, and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and business partners. There is no certainty that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19 or otherwise be satisfactory to government authorities. If a number of our employees were to contract COVID-19 at the same time, our operations could be adversely affected.

A sustained disruption in the capital markets from the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically with respect to the energy industry, could negatively impactCCS systems, impair our ability to raise capital. In the past, we have financed our operations by the issuance of equity and equity-based securities. However, we cannot predict when the macro-economic disruption stemming from COVID-19 will ebb or when the economy will return to pre-COVID-19 levels. This macro-economic disruption may disrupt our ability to raise additional capital to finance our operations in the future, which could materiallyobtain financing, and adversely affectimpact our business, financial condition and prospects,results of operations.

We may not be able to utilize any future federal income tax credits.
Our LNG and could ultimately cause our business to fail.

The COVID-19 pandemic may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, such as risks related to the development of the Terminal, postponement in making a positive FID, doing business in foreign countries, obtaining governmental approvals, and exported LNG remaining a competitive source of energy for international markets, global demand for and price of natural gas, and fluctuationCCS activities are in the priceconstruction stage and development stage, respectively, and have not historically generated any revenue; consequently, as of December 31, 2023, we had significant deferred tax assets primarily resulting from net operating losses for federal income tax purposes. See Note 15 — Income Taxes in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. To the extent we are not able to monetize federal income tax credits that we generate under Section 45Q or a successor provision, either by transferring such credit or electing to receive a direct payment equal to such credit, we would have to take such federal income tax credits against our common stock.

The extenttaxable income.  There is no assurance that we will be able to which COVID-19 ultimately impactstransfer these federal income tax credits or generate taxable income or otherwise be able to monetize the value represented by these federal income tax credits.

Our ability to utilize our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are uncertain and cannotnet operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) may be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of COVID-19, its severity, the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after COVID-19 has subsided, we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of its global economic impact, including any recessionownership changes under Section 382 of the Code.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (as amended) contains provisions that limit the utilization of NOL and tax credit carryforwards if there has been a change in ownership as described in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 382”).  Such an ownership change occurs if the aggregate stock ownership of certain stockholders, generally stockholders beneficially owning five percent or more of a corporation’s common stock, applying certain look-through and aggregation rules, increases by more than 50 percentage points over such stockholders’ lowest percentage ownership during the testing period, generally three years. Substantial changes in the Company's ownership have occurred that may limit or may occurreduce the amount of NOL carryforwards that the Company could utilize in the future to offset taxable income. At December 31, 2023, we had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of approximately $260.7 million. Approximately $26.1 million of these NOL carryforwards will expire between 2034 and lasting effects2038.
Limitations imposed on the priceour ability to use NOLs to offset future taxable income may cause U.S. federal income taxes to be paid earlier than otherwise would be paid if such limitations were not in effect and could cause such NOLs and other tax attributes to expire unused. Similar rules and limitations may apply for state and foreign income tax purposes. If we experience such an ownership change, it is possible that a significant portion of natural gas.

our tax attributes could be limited for use to offset future taxable income.

Risks Relating to our Securities
Our common stock could be delisted from Nasdaq.

Our common stock is currently listed on Nasdaq. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. If we fail to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq, our common stock may become subject to delisting. If Nasdaq delists our common stock from trading on its exchange for failure to meet the continued listing standards, we and our stockholders could face significant material adverse consequences including:

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

a limited amount of analyst coverage; and

a decreased ability for us to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
a limited amount of analyst coverage; and
a decreased ability for us to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The market price of our common stock has fluctuated in the past and is likely to fluctuate in the future. Holders of our common stock could lose all or part of their investment.

The securities markets in general and our common stock have experienced significant price and volume volatility. The market price and trading volume of our common stock may continue to experience significant fluctuations due not only to general stock market conditions but also to a change in sentiment in the market regarding our operations, business prospects or those of companies in our industry. In addition to the other risk factors discussed in this section, the price and volume volatility of our common stock may be affected by:

domestic and worldwide supply of and demand for natural gas and corresponding fluctuations in the price of natural gas;

fluctuations in our quarterly or annual financial results or those of other companies in our industry;

issuance of additional equity securities which causes further dilution to stockholders;

sales of a high volume of shares of our common stock by our stockholders;

operating and stock price performance of companies that investors deem comparable to us;

events affecting other companies that the market deems comparable to us;

changes in government regulation or proposals applicable to us;

actual or potential non-performance by any customer or a counterparty under any agreement;

domestic and worldwide supply of and demand for natural gas and corresponding fluctuations in the price of natural gas;
fluctuations in our quarterly or annual financial results or those of other companies in our industry;
issuance of additional equity securities which causes further dilution to stockholders;
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sales of Contentsa high volume of shares of our common stock by our stockholders (including sales by our directors, executive officers, and other employees) or the perception or expectation that such sales may occur;
short sales, hedging, and other derivative transactions on shares of our common stock;

announcements made by us or our competitors of significant contracts;

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;

general conditions in the industries in which we operate;

general economic conditions; and

the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock or changes in financial or other estimates by analysts.

the volume of shares of our common stock available for public sale;
operating and stock price performance of companies that investors deem comparable to us;
events affecting other companies that the market deems comparable to us;
changes in government regulation or proposals applicable to us;
actual or potential non-performance by any customer or a counterparty under any agreement;
announcements made by us or our competitors of significant contracts;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
general conditions in the industries in which we operate;
general economic conditions; and
the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock or changes in financial or other estimates by analysts.
The stock prices of companies in the LNG industry have experienced wide fluctuations that have often been unrelated to the operating performance of these companies. Following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation often has been initiated against a company. If any class action litigation is initiated against us, we may incur substantial costs and our management’s attention may be diverted from our operations, which could materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights. Additionally, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other securities in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

We may seek the additional capital necessary to fund our operations through public or private equity offerings and debt financings. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, existing stockholders’ ownership interests will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect their rights as a stockholder. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. In addition, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock or other securities in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock.

Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation grants our board of directors the power to designate and issue additional shares of common and/or preferred stock.

Our authorized capital consists of 480,000,000 shares of common stock and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our preferred stock may be designated into series pursuant to authority granted by our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), and on approval from our board of directors. 166,364 sharesdirectors (the “Board of preferred stock have been designated as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”Directors” or “Board”), 166,364 shares. The Board of preferred stock have been designated as Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series B Preferred Stock”), and 166,364 shares of preferred stock have been designated as Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock” and together with the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock, the “Convertible Preferred Stock”), in each case which are convertible into shares of common stock upon the occurrence of certain events. The board of directors,Directors, without any action by our common stockholders, may designate and issue additional shares of preferred stock in such classes or series as it deems appropriate and establish the rights, preferences and privileges of such shares, including dividends, liquidation and voting rights, subject to the limitations of the Convertible Preferred Stock as further described in the risk factor titled “Holders of the Convertible Preferred Stock have certain voting and other rights that may adversely affect holders of our common stock, and the holders of Convertible Preferred Stock may have different interests from and vote their shares in a manner deemed adverse to, holders of our common stock”.rights. The rights of holders of other classes or series of stock that may be issued could be superior to the rights of holders of our common stock. The designation and issuance of shares of capital stock having preferential rights could adversely affect other rights appurtenant to shares of our common stock.

The dividend, liquidation,

29


Ourlargeststockholderswill substantially influence our Company for the foreseeable future, including the outcome of matters requiring shareholder approval, and redemption rightssuch control may prevent you and other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions and may result in conflicts of interest that could cause our stock price to decline.
As of March 4, 2024, affiliates of York Capital Management, L.P., TotalEnergies SE, Valinor Capital Partners, L.P., HGC NEXT INV LLC and Ninteenth Investment Company (collectively, the “Large Stockholders”) beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 60% of the holderscombined voting power of our outstanding shares of common stock. Additionally, four members of our Board of Directors are affiliated with certain of Large Stockholders. As a result, the Large Stockholders have the ability to influence the election of our directors and the outcome of corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, such as: (i) a merger or a sale of our Company, (ii) a sale of all or substantially all of our assets, and (iii) amendments to our articles of incorporation and bylaws. This concentration of voting power and control could have a significant effect in delaying, deferring or preventing an action that might otherwise be beneficial to our other stockholders and be disadvantageous to our stockholders with interests different from those entities and individuals. The Large Stockholders also have significant control over our business, policies and affairs by their affiliates serving as directors of our Company. They may also exert influence in delaying or preventing a change in control of the Convertible Preferred StockCompany, even if such change in control would benefit the other stockholders of the Company. In addition, the significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect our financial position and the rightsmarket value of the holders of our common stock.

At March 22, 2021, we had 67,485 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, 64,496 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, and 24,990 shares of Series C Preferred Stock outstanding. The shares of Convertible Preferred Stock bear dividends at a rate of 12% per annum, which are cumulative and accrue daily from the date of issuance on the $1,000 stated value.  Such dividends are payable quarterly and may be paid in cash or in-kind. No dividends may be paid to holders of ourCompany’s common stock while accumulated dividends remain unpaid on the Convertible Preferred Stock.

Further, we are required, on the earlierdue to investors’ perception that conflicts of (i) ten (10) business days following a FID Event (as defined in the certificatesinterest may exist or arise.

The exercise of designations of the Convertible Preferred Stock) and (ii) the date that is the tenth (10th) anniversary of the closings of the issuances of the Convertible Preferred Stock, as applicable, to convert all of the (i) the Series A Preferred Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock into shares of Company common stock at a conversion price of $7.34 per share of Company common stock and (ii) the Series C Preferred Stock into shares of Company common stock at a conversion price of $2.96 per share of Company common stock. The conversion of the Convertible Preferred Stock would directly dilute the holders of our common stock. In the event we are liquidated while shares of Convertible Preferred Stock are outstanding holders of Convertible Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a preferred liquidation distribution, plus any accumulated and unpaid dividends, before holders of our common stock receive any distributions.

Holders of the Convertible Preferred Stock have certain voting and other rights that may adversely affect holders of our common stock, and the holders of Convertible Preferred Stock may have different interests from and vote their shares in a manner deemed adverse to, holders of our common stock.

The holders of Convertible Preferred Stock vote on an “as-converted” basis with the holders of our common stock on all matters brought before the holders of our common stock. In addition, prior to the conversion of the Convertible Preferred Stock, the consent of the holders of at least a majority of each of the Series A Preferred Stock, the Series B Preferred Stock and the Series C Preferred Stock then outstanding, in each case voting together as a single class, will be required for the Company to take certain actions, including, among others, (i) authorizing, creating or approving the issuance of any shares, or of any security convertible into, or convertible or exchangeable for shares of, senior to the Convertible Preferred Stock; (ii) authorizing, creating or approving the issuance of any shares of, or of any security convertible into, or convertible or exchangeable for shares of, Parity Stock (as defined in the certificates of designations of the Convertible Preferred Stock), subject to certain exceptions; (iii) adversely affecting the rights, preferences or privileges of the Convertible Preferred Stock, as applicable, subject to certain exceptions; (iv) amending, altering or repealing any of the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation in a manner that would adversely affect the powers, designations, preferences or rights of the Convertible Preferred Stock, as applicable; or (v) amending, altering or repealing any of the provisions of the certificates of designations of the Convertible Preferred Stock, as applicable.  Further, the holders of Convertible Preferred Stock have the right to purchase their pro rata share of any future issuance of preferred stock of the Company.

17

The holders of Convertible Preferred Stock may have different interests from the holders of our common stock and could vote their shares in a manner deemed adverse to the holders of our common stock.

Exercise of warrants may have a dilutive effect on our common stock.

As of December 31, 2020, outstanding IPO Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 12,081,895 shares of our common stock were exercisable in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement governing such warrants. These warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York time, on July 24, 2022 or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. The exercise price of these warrants is $11.50 per one full share of our common stock, subject to certain adjustments.

In addition, we

We issued warrants together with the issuances of our Convertible Preferred Stock. The warrants issued together with the Series A Preferred Stock (the “Series A“Common Stock Warrants”) represent. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding Common Stock Warrants represented the right to acquire in the aggregate a number of shares of our common stock equal to approximately 71 basis points (0.71%) of all outstanding shares of Company common stock, measured on a fully diluted basis, on the applicable exercise date with a strike price of $0.01 per share. The warrants issued together with the Series B Preferred Stock (the “Series B Warrants”) represent the right to acquire in the aggregate a number of shares of common stock equal to approximately 71 basis points (0.71%) of all outstanding shares of Company common stock, measured on a fully diluted basis, on the exercise date with a strike price of $0.01 per share.  The warrants issued together with the Series C Preferred Stock (the “Series C Warrants” and, together with the Series A Warrants and the Series B Warrants, the “Common Stock Warrants”) represent the right to acquire in the aggregate a number of shares of common stock equal to approximately 35 basis points (0.35%) of all outstanding shares of Company common stock, measured on a fully diluted basis, on the exercise date with a strike price of $0.01 per share.

The Common Stock Warrants have a fixed three-year term that commenced on the closings of the issuances of the associated Convertible Preferred Stock. The Common Stock Warrants may only be exercised by holders of the Common Stock Warrants at the expiration of such three-year term, except thatterm.
To the Company can force the exercise ofextent the Common Stock Warrants prior to expiration of such term if the volume weighted average trading price of shares of common stock for each trading day during any 60 of the prior 90 trading days is equal to or greater than 175% of the conversion price of the Series A Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock and, with respect to the Series B Warrants and Series C Warrants, the Company simultaneously elects to force a mandatory exercise of all other warrants then outstanding and un-exercised and held by any holder of parity stock.

To the extent the IPO Warrants are exercised, or the warrants issued together with the Convertible Preferred Stock are exercised, additional shares of our common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of our common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Provisions of our charter documents or Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent us from being acquired even if being acquired would be beneficial to our stockholders and could make it more difficult to change management.

Provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control that stockholders might otherwise consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempt by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult to replace or remove our boardBoard of directors.Directors. Among other things, these provisions include:

elimination of our stockholders’ ability to call special meetings of stockholders;

elimination of our stockholders’ ability to act by written consent;

an advance notice requirement for stockholder proposals and nominations for members of our board of directors;

a classified board of directors, the members of which serve staggered three-year terms;

the express authority of our board of directors to make, alter or repeal the Bylaws;

the authority of our board of directors to determine the number of director seats on our board of directors; and

the authority of our board of directors to issue preferred stock with such terms as it may determine.

elimination of our stockholders’ ability to call special meetings of stockholders;
elimination of our stockholders’ ability to act by written consent;
an advance notice requirement for stockholder proposals and nominations for members of our Board of Directors;
a classified Board of Directors, the members of which serve staggered three-year terms;
the express authority of our Board of Directors to make, alter or repeal the Bylaws;
the authority of our Board of Directors to determine the number of director seats on our Board of Directors; and
the authority of our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock with such terms as it may determine.
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In addition, the Certificate of Incorporation provides, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any claims, including (i) any derivative actions or proceedings brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by, or any wrongdoing by, a director, officer or employee or (iii) any action asserting a claim pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, (iv) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws or (v) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions described above. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision that is contained in the Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Increasing attention to environmental, social and governance matters may impact our business, financial results or stock price and climate change concerns may pose challenges to our operating model.
In recent years, increasing attention has been given to corporate activities related to environmental, social and governance matters in public discourse and the investment community. A number of advocacy groups, both domestically and internationally, have campaigned for governmental and private action to promote change at public companies related to ESG matters, including through the investment and voting practices of investment advisers, public pension funds, universities and other members of the investing community. These activities include increasing attention and demands for action related to climate change, promoting the use of substitutes to fossil fuel products, and encouraging the divestment of companies in the fossil fuel industry. These activities could negatively impact negotiations with potential customers or financial counterparties, reduce demand for our products, reduce our profits, increase the potential for investigations and litigation, impair our brand and have negative impacts on the price of our common stock and access to capital markets.
In October 2020, we announced that we have developed proprietary CCS processes, which we intend to deploy at the Rio Grande LNG Facility to significantly reduce its expected CO2 emissions. However, the Rio Grande LNG Facility CCS project may ultimately be unsuccessful or, even if successful, may not satisfy the demands or expectations of certain members of the investing community focused on ESG matters.
In addition, organizations that provide information to investors on corporate governance and related matters have developed ratings systems for evaluating companies on their approach to ESG matters. Recently, there has been an acceleration in investor demand for ESG investing opportunities, and many large institutional investors have committed to increasing the percentage of their portfolios that are allocated towards ESG-focused investments. As a result, there has been a proliferation of ESG-focused investment funds seeking ESG-oriented investment products. If we are unable to meet the ESG ratings or investment or lending criteria set by these investors and funds, we may lose investors, investors may allocate a portion of their capital away from us, our cost of capital may increase, the price of our common stock may be negatively impacted, and our reputation may also be negatively affected.
Furthermore, we also could face an increased risk of climate‐related litigation suits with respect to our operations or disclosures. Claims have been made against certain energy companies alleging that greenhouse gas emissions from oil, gas and LNG operations constitute a public nuisance under federal and state law. Private individuals or public entities also could attempt to enforce environmental laws and regulations against us and could seek personal injury and property damages or other remedies. Additionally, governments and private parties are also increasingly filing suits, or initiating regulatory action, based on allegations that certain public statements regarding ESG-related matters by companies are false and misleading “greenwashing” campaigns that violate deceptive trade practices and consumer protection statutes or that climate-related disclosures made by companies are inadequate. Similar issues can also arise when aspirational statements such as net-zero or carbon neutrality targets are made without clear plans. Although we are not a party to any such climate-related or “greenwashing” litigation currently, unfavorable rulings against us in any such case brought against us in the future could significantly impact our operations and could have an adverse impact on our financial condition.
1831


TableGeneral Risk Factors
The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict, conflict in the Middle East and other sources of Contentsvolatility in the energy markets may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects, including our efforts to reach a final investment decision with respect to theRio Grande LNG Facility.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant disruption globally. Actions taken by various governmental authorities, individuals and companies around the world to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have restricted travel, business operations, and the overall level of individual movement and in-person interaction across the globe. Furthermore, the impact of the pandemic, including its effect on the demand for natural gas, led to significant global economic contraction generally and in our industry in particular. Prospects for the development and financing of the Rio Grande LNG Facility are based in part on factors including global economic conditions that have been, and are likely to continue to be, adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to modify our business practices, including by restricting employee travel, requiring employees to work remotely and cancelling physical participation in meetings, events and conferences, and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and business partners. There is no certainty that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19 or otherwise be satisfactory to government authorities. If a number of our employees were to contract COVID-19 at the same time, our operations could be adversely affected.
In February 2022, Russia, one of the world’s largest producers of natural gas, launched an invasion of Ukraine. These actions resulted in a number of countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, announcing sanctions against Russia. Additionally, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which was built to provide 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe annually, has been affected by geopolitical issues and incurred damage that has been investigated as possible sabotage. The current geopolitical climate in Europe is unstable and conflict may further escalate. While it is difficult to anticipate the impact the sanctions announced to date may have on our operations, any further sanctions imposed or actions taken by the U.S. or other countries, and any retaliatory measures by Russia in response, such as restrictions on energy supplies from Russia to countries in the region, could have a significant and uncertain impact on the natural gas industry. In addition, the Israel-Hamas war and maritime attacks in the Red Sea have caused further geopolitical uncertainty, especially as it related to the energy industry.
A sustained disruption in the capital markets from the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict and hostilities in the Middle East, specifically with respect to the energy industry, could negatively impact our ability to raise capital. In the past, we have financed our operations by the issuance of equity and equity-based securities. However, we cannot predict when macro-economic disruption stemming from COVID-19 or outbreaks of variants of the virus or geopolitical uncertainty may occur. This macro-economic disruption may disrupt our ability to raise additional capital to finance our operations in the future, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects, and could ultimately cause our business to fail.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, such as risks related to the development of the CCS projects and the Rio Grande LNG Facility, including postponement in making a positive FID on the Rio Grande LNG Facility, doing business in foreign countries, obtaining governmental approvals, and exported LNG remaining a competitive source of energy for international markets, global demand for and price of natural gas, and fluctuation in the price of our common stock.
The extent to which COVID-19 ultimately impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition depends on future developments, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of COVID-19, its severity, the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume.  Additionally, the ultimate outcome of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including resulting tensions among the United States, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia, disruption to the production and supply of natural gas throughout Europe, cyberwarfare and economic instability, could impact our operations or disrupt our ability to access the capital markets.  The duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and hostilities in the Middle East is uncertain, and we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of their global economic impact, including any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future, and lasting effects on the price of natural gas.
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Cyberattacks targeting systems and infrastructure used in our business may adversely impact our operations.

We depend on digital technology in many aspects of our business, including the processing and recording of financial and operating data, analysis of information, and communications with our employees and third parties. Cyberattacks on our systems and those of third-party vendors and other counterparties occur frequently and have grown in sophistication. A successful cyberattack on us or a vendor or other counterparty could have a variety of adverse consequences, including theft of proprietary or commercially sensitive information, data corruption, interruption in communications, disruptions to our existing or planned activities or transactions, and damage to third parties, any of which could have a material adverse impact on us. Further, as cyberattacks continue to evolve, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerabilities to cyberattacks.
Terrorist attacks, including cyberterrorism, or military campaigns involving us or our projects could result in delays in, or cancellation of, construction or closure of the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
A terrorist or military incident involving the Rio Grande LNG Facility or any industrial facility that hosts a CCS project may result in delays in, or cancellation of, construction of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or the relevant CCS project, which would increase our costs and prevent us from obtaining expected cash flows. A terrorist incident could also result in temporary or permanent closure of the Rio Grande LNG Facility or such host industrial facility, which could increase costs and decrease cash flows, depending on the duration of the closure. Operations at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects could also become subject to increased governmental scrutiny that may result in additional security measures at a significant incremental cost. In addition, the threat of terrorism and the impact of military campaigns may lead to continued volatility in prices for natural gas that could adversely affect our business and customers, including the ability of our suppliers or customers to satisfy their respective obligations under our commercial agreements. Instability in the financial markets as a result of terrorism, including cyberterrorism, or war, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict or hostilities in the Middle East, could also materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital. The continuation of these developments may subject our construction and operations to increased risks, as well as increased costs, and, depending on their ultimate magnitude, could have a material adverse effect on our business, contracts, financial condition, operating results, cash flow, liquidity and prospects.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Risk Management and Strategy
Our cybersecurity program is an important component of our broader risk management strategy in which cyber risk has been identified and is actively managed with preventive and mitigating measures. We design and assess our cybersecurity program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, and industry-specific regulations. This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specification or requirements, but rather that we use these frameworks as a guide to help us identify, assess and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
On an ongoing basis, we assess our people, processes, and technology, and when necessary, modify the overall program in order to meet the demands of the ever-changing cyber risk environment. As part of our regular training and readiness program, we conduct phishing and penetration testing campaigns in order to ensure that our employees are familiar with all types of phishing emails and similar threats.
Our data is dynamically backed up to mitigate against data loss. To prevent unauthorized access and data breaches, we encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest and we have also implemented access controls and multi-factor authentication to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information. We also utilize third-party information technology systems vendors to conduct constant network and endpoint monitoring.
We develop and implement robust cybersecurity policies and procedures that address access control, data encryption, use of assets, and data protection. We ensure that all employees, contractors, and third-party vendors adhere to these policies and receive training on cybersecurity best practices.
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Governance
Our cybersecurity function resides within the broader security function and reports to the Vice President of Health, Safety, Security & Environmental (“VP HSSE”), who is responsible for the delivery of a robust and risk-based cybersecurity program. The Senior Manager of Cybersecurity, reporting to the VP HSSE, is responsible for all activities, including improvements, incident response, and investigation. Cyber governance oversight is provided by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee discusses with management our cybersecurity risk exposures and the steps management has taken to mitigate such exposures, including our risk assessment and risk management policies.
Incident Response Reporting
Our strength in incident response reporting lies in our proactive and transparent approach to addressing cybersecurity incidents swiftly and effectively. We focus on preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of a cybersecurity incident and we have a robust response and recovery program and a cross-functional response team, which would be activated in the event of an incident to manage and reduce the escalation of the incident. We have established a robust incident response framework that enables us to detect, respond to, and mitigate threats with precision and speed. Our strategy involves clear communication channels, defined roles and responsibilities, and regular drills and simulations to ensure readiness.
When an incident occurs, we adhere to strict reporting protocols, promptly notifying appropriate regulatory authorities and affected customers and stakeholders, while maintaining transparency and accountability throughout the process, which allows us to not only mitigate the impact of cyber threats but also demonstrate our commitment to cybersecurity risk prevention and response.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, there were no cybersecurity incidents or threats that materially affected our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Item 2. Properties

We currently lease approximately 25,60090,000 square feet of office space for general and administrative purposes in Houston, Texas under a lease agreement that expires on September 30, 2021.

In January 2017, NextDecade LLC executed surface lease agreements with the City of Texas City and the State of Texas for a 994-acre site for a potential second U.S. LNG project (collectively, the “Galveston Bay Leases”). The Galveston Bay Leases expired on December 31, 2020.

On March 6, 2019, 2035.

Rio Grande has entered into a lease agreement (the “Rio Grande Site Lease”) with the Brownsville Navigation District of Cameron County, Texas (“BND”) pursuant to which we have agreed to leaseRio Grande has leased approximately 984 acres of land situated in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas for the purposes of constructing, operating, and maintaining the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility and gas treatment and gas pipeline facilities. The initial term of the Rio Grande Site Lease is for 30 yearsexpires on July 12, 2053 (the “Primary Term”), which will commence on the date specified in a written notice by us to BND. We have. Rio Grande has the option to renew and extend the term of the Rio Grande Site Lease beyond the Primary Term for up to two consecutive renewal periods of ten years each provided that it has not caused an event of default under the Rio Grande Site Lease.

We do not own or lease any other real property that is materially important to our business. We believe that our current properties are adequate for our current needs and that additional office space will be available when and as needed.

Item 3.Legal Proceedings

None.

As of December 31, 2023, management was not aware of any claims or legal actions that, separately or in the aggregate, are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows, although the Company cannot guarantee that a material adverse event will not occur.
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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Table of Contents

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information, Holders and Dividends

Our common stock trades on Nasdaq under the symbol “NEXT.” The IPO Warrants trade on the OTC Pink Market under the symbol “NEXTW.”

As of March 18, 2021, 122.24, 2024, 256.7 million shares of Company common stock were outstanding held by approximately 6968 record owners. All shares of Company common stock held in street name are recorded in our stock register as being held by one stockholder.

We currently intend to retain earnings to finance the growth and development of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on Company common stock in the foreseeable future. Any future change in our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our boardBoard of directorsDirectors in light of our financial condition, capital requirements, earnings, prospects and any restrictions under any financing agreements, as well as other factors it deems relevant.

Purchase of Equity Securities by the Issuer

The following table summarizes stock repurchases for the three months ended December 31, 2020:

Period

 

Total Number of Shares Purchased (1)

 

Average Price Paid Per Share (2)

 

Total Number of Shares Purchased as a Part of Publicly Announced Plans

 

Maximum Number of Units That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans

October 2020

  3,525  $2.59       

November 2020

    $       

December 2020

  4,870  $2.40       

(1)

Represents shares of Company common stock surrendered to us by participants in our 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) to settle the participants’ personal tax liabilities that resulted from the lapsing of restrictions on shares awarded to the participants under the 2017 Plan.

(2)

The price paid per share of Company common stock was based on the closing trading price of Company common stock on the dates on which we repurchased shares of Company common stock from the participants under the 2017 Plan.

2023: 

Period
Total Number of
Shares Purchased (1)
Average
Price Paid
Per Share (2)
Total Number of
Shares Purchased as
a Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
Maximum Number of
Units That May Yet
Be Purchased Under
the Plans
October 2023$— 
November 2023609$4.35 
December 20233,247$5.23 
(1)Represents shares of Company common stock surrendered to us by participants in our 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) to settle the participants’ personal tax liabilities that resulted from the lapsing of restrictions on shares awarded to the participants under the 2017 Plan.
(2)The price paid per share of Company common stock was based on the closing trading price of Company common stock on the dates on which we repurchased shares of Company common stock from the participants under the 2017 Plan.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are not required to provide the information under this item.

[Reserved]
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Table of Contents

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Introduction

The following discussion and analysis presents management’s view of our business, financial condition and overall performance and should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” This information is intended to provide investors with an understanding of our past performance, current financial condition and outlook for the future. Our discussion and analysis include the following subjects:

Overview of Business

Overview of Significant Events

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Contractual Obligations

Results of Operations

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates

Recent Accounting Standards

Overview of Business

We are a LNG development company focused on LNG export projects in the State of Texas. We have focused and continue to focus our development activities on the Terminal and have undertaken and continue to undertake various initiatives to design and engineer the Terminal that we expect will result in demand for contracted capacity at the Terminal, which would allow us to seek construction financing to develop the Terminal. We believe the Terminal possesses competitive advantages in several important areas, including, engineering, commercial, regulatory, and gas supply. We submitted a pre-filing request for the Terminal to the FERC in March 2015 and filed a formal application with the FERC in May 2016. In November 2019, the FERC issued an order authorizing the siting, construction and operation of the Terminal.  We also believe we have robust commercial offtake and gas supply strategies in place.

Overview of Significant Events

Carbon-Neutrality

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Contractual Obligations
Results of Operations
Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates
Recent Accounting Standards
Overview of Business
NextDecade Corporation engages in construction and development activities related to the liquefaction and sale of LNG and the capture and storage of CO2 emissions. We are constructing and developing a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located in the Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, Texas (the “Rio Grande LNG Facility”), which currently has three liquefaction trains and related infrastructure (“Phase 1”) under construction, and two additional liquefaction trains in development. We are also developing a planned carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) project at the Terminal

On March 18, 2021, we announced the formation ofRio Grande LNG Facility and other potential CCS projects that would be located at third-party industrial facilities through our NEXT Carbon Solutions LLCbusiness.

Overview of Significant Events
Development and Construction
On July 12, 2023, the Company announced a positive FID to construct Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, and Rio Grande issued full notice to proceed (“NEXT Carbon Solutions”NTP”), a wholly owned subsidiary of NextDecade that is expected to:

develop one of the largest carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) projects in North America at the Terminal;

advance proprietary processes to lower the cost of utilizing CCS technology;

help other energy companies to reduce their greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions associated with the production, transportation, and use of natural gas; and

generate high-quality, verifiable carbon offsets to support companies in their efforts to achieve net-zero emissions.

NEXT Carbon Solutions’ CCS to Bechtel under the EPC contracts for Phase 1.

Expected capital project is expected to reduce permitted CO2 emissions atcosts total $18.0 billion and include EPC costs, owner’s costs and contingencies, dredging for the Terminal byBrazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project, conservation of more than 90 percent without major design changes to4,000 acres of wetland, installation of utilities, and interest during construction and other financing costs..
Under the Terminal.EPC contracts with Bechtel, Phase 1 progress is tracked for Train 1, Train 2, and the common facilities on a combined basis and Train 3 on a separate basis. As a result,of January 2024:
The overall project completion percentage for Trains 1 and 2 and the Terminalcommon facilities of the Rio Grande LNG Facility was 14.3%, which is expected to be the greenest LNG project in the world. 

We are working with sustainable Permian and Eagle Ford producers seeking to supply responsibly sourced natural gas to the Terminal. Combining responsibly sourced natural gasline with the anticipated CO2 emissions reduction associatedschedule under the EPC contract. Within this project completion percentage, engineering was 47.9% complete, procurement was 26.8% complete, and construction was 1.0% complete.

The overall project completion percentage for Train 3 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility was 4.4%, based on preliminary schedules, which is also in line with our CCSthe schedule under the EPC contract. Within this project is expectedcompletion percentage, engineering was 3.4% complete, procurement was 10.6% complete, and construction was 0.0% complete.
Strategic and Commercial
In January 2023, Rio Grande entered into a 15-year LNG SPA with Itochu Corporation (“Itochu”) for the supply of 1.0 MTPA of LNG, indexed to enableHenry Hub and sold on a free-on-board (“FOB”) basis from the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility.
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In June 2023, Rio Grande entered into a 20-year LNG SPA with TotalEnergies SE (“TotalEnergies”) for the supply of 5.4 MTPA of LNG, indexed to produce the lowest lifecycle GHG LNGHenry Hub and sold on an FOB basis and to befrom the greenestRio Grande LNG project inFacility.
We have started the world.

To realize the significant benefits associated with co-development of the Terminal and the CCS project, we anticipate achieving FID on a minimum of two trains at the Terminal in 2021 and FID on the CCS project soon after FID at the Terminal.

Terminal Optimization

The original front-end engineering and design (“FEED”) and EPC contract processes with Bechtel for the Terminal was based on six LNG trains capable of producing 27 mtpa of LNG for export. The technologies that were selectedTrain 4 and filedare progressing numerous discussions with the FERC in 2015 and 2016 have evolved over the five-year permitting period; the LNG trains are now more efficient and will produce more LNG with lower total CO2e emissions. Multiple optimizations have been identified that will lead to the delivery of a LNG project capable of producing 27 mtpa with just five LNG trains instead of six.

We expect these optimizations to result in several environmental and community benefits when compared with our original six-train project, including (i) approximately 21 percent lower CO2e emissions, (ii) shortened construction timeline for the full 27 mtpa project, (iii) reduced facility footprint, and (iv) an expected reduction in traffic on roadways.

On August 13, 2020, the FERC approved the change of the design for the Terminal from six trains to five trains. On October 9, 2020, the FERC issued a notice of denial of rehearing for such approval in regards to challenges to its approval of the design change.

Any future development of Train 6 will require us to secure authorization from the FERC, the DOE, and any other relevant federal or state agency with jurisdiction over the export project.

LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

In March 2019, we entered into the SPA with Shell for the supply of approximately two mtpa of liquefied natural gas from the Terminal. Pursuant to the SPA, Shell will purchase LNG on a FOB basis starting from the date the first liquefaction train of the Terminal that is commercially operable, with approximately three-quarters of the purchased LNG volume indexed to Brent and the remaining volume indexed to domestic United States gas indices, including Henry Hub.

In the first quarter of 2020, the SPA became effective upon the conditions precedent in the SPA being satisfied or waived.  The SPA obligates Rio Grande to deliver the contracted volumespotential buyers of LNG to Shell at the FOB delivery point, subject to the first liquefaction train at the Terminal being commercially operable.

Rio Grande Site Lease

On March 6, 2019, Rio Grande entered into the Rio Grande Site Leaseprovide commercial support for the purposes of constructing, operating and maintaining the Terminal and gas treatment and gas pipeline facilities. The Primary Term will commence on the date specified in a written notice by us to BND. We have the option to renew and extend the term of the Rio Grande Site Lease beyond the Primary Term for up to two consecutive renewal periods of ten years each provided that it has not caused an event of default under the Rio Grande Site Lease.

On January 27, 2020, the City of Port Isabel, Texas and other parties filed a lawsuit in state court in Cameron County against the BND seeking to enjoin the federally-authorized siting, construction, and operation of LNG terminals on land owned by the BND. On August 5, 2020, the state court dismissed the lawsuit.

On April 30, 2020, Rio Grande and the BND amended the Rio Grande Site Lease (the “Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment”) to extend the effective date for commencing the Rio Grande Site Lease to May 6, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). The Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment further provides that Rio Grande has the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to extend the Effective Date to May 6, 2022 by providing the BND with written notice of its election no later than the close of business on the Effective Date.

Extension of Contract Validity of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contract

During the third quarter of 2018,Train 4.

Financial
In February 2023, we initiated a competitive EPC bid process. We received EOIs from multiple EPC contractors to participate in the EPC process. We reviewed the EOIs against a series of selection criteria and issued formal invitations to bid to Bechtel , Fluor and McDermott. In December 2018, each of the EPC bidders provided us with an endorsement of the Terminal’s FEED, which indicates the bidders’ confirmation that the Terminal is technically feasible and can be further designed, engineered, permitted, constructed, commissioned and safely placed into operations.

On April 22, 2019, we received EPC bid packages from each of Bechtel and Fluor, two of the global LNG market’s leading EPC contractors. The technical and commercial bid packages, which were received on-schedule, were for LSTK EPC contracts for the Terminal.

On May 24, 2019, Rio Grande entered into the EPC Agreements. We agreed to pay to Bechtel a contract price of $7.042 billion for the work under the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement and a contract price of $2.323 billion for the work under the Train 3 EPC Agreement. In each of 2020 and 2019, we issued two limited notices to proceed to Bechtel under the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement.

On October 1, 2019, we issued 2,119,728sold approximately 5.8 million shares of Companyour common stock for gross proceeds of $35 million to BDC Oil and Gas Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of Bechtel.  The shares of Company common stock were issued in lieu of a cash payment of $15 million for amounts invoiced by Bechtel pursuant to the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement.

As previously disclosed, Rio Grande and Bechtel completed a contract price refresh on the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement and the Train 3 EPC Agreement resulting in no changes to the contract prices and such contract prices are now valid until December 31, 2021. 

By amendment dated March 5, 2021, Rio Grande and Bechtel amended the Trains 1 and 2 EPC Agreement to extend the contract validity to July 31, 2022. By amendment dated March 5, 2021, Rio Grande and Bechtel amended the Train 3 EPC Agreement to extend the contract validity to July 31, 2022.

FERC Order for Terminal

On November 22, 2019, FERC issued an order authorizing the siting, construction and operation of the Terminal.  Following receipt of the Final Order from FERC two requests for re-hearing were filed. One of those requests for rehearing also requested that the FERC stay its Final Order. On January 22, 2020, the FERC issued an order extending the time by which it would respond to these requests for rehearing. On January 23, 2020, the FERC issued its Order on Rehearing and Stay, by which FERC denied all re-hearings and requests for stay. The parties who filed the requests for re-hearing have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the FERC Order and the FERC order denying rehearing, and that appeal is still pending. Similar appeals are also pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in respect of other permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Export of LNG to Non-FTA countries 

On September 7, 2016, Rio Grande obtained an authorization for export of LNG to countries with which the U.S. has a FTA on our own behalf and as an agent for others for a term of 30 years. On February 10, 2020, the DOE issued an order granting authorization to export LNG from the Terminal to non-FTA countries.

Sale of Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC

On March 2, 2020, NextDecade LLC closed the transactions (the “Closing”) contemplated by that certain Omnibus Agreement, dated February 13, 2020, with Buyer, pursuant to which NextDecade LLC sold one hundred percent of the Equity Interests in Rio Bravo to Buyer in consideration of approximately $19.4 million.  Buyer paid $15.0 million of the purchase price to NextDecade LLC at the Closing and the remainder will be paid within five business days after the date that Rio Grande has received, after a final positive investment decision, the initial funding of financing for the development, construction and operation of the Terminal. In connection with the Closing, Rio Grande Gas Supply entered into (i) a Precedent Agreement for Firm Natural Gas Transportation Service for the Rio Bravo Pipeline (the “RBPL Precedent Agreement”) with Rio Bravo and (ii) a Precedent Agreement for Natural Gas Transportation Service (the “VCP Precedent Agreement”) with VCP. VCP and Rio Bravo are wholly owned subsidiaries of Enbridge. The Valley Crossing Pipeline is owned and operated by VCP.

Pursuant to the RBPL Precedent Agreement, Rio Bravo agreed to provide Rio Grande Gas Supply with firm natural gas transportation services on the Pipeline in a quantity sufficient to match the full operational capacity of each proposed liquefaction train of the Terminal. Rio Bravo’s obligation to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the Pipeline is conditioned on its receipt, no later than December 31, 2023, of notice that Rio Grande Gas Supply or its affiliate has issued a full notice to proceed to the engineering, procurement and construction contractor (the “EPC Contractor”) for the construction of the Terminal. Under the RBPL Precedent Agreement, in consideration for the provision of such firm transportation services, Rio Bravo will be remunerated on a dollar-per-dekatherm, take-or-pay basis, subject to certain adjustments, over a term of at least twenty years, all in compliance with the federal and state authorizations associated with the Pipeline.

Pursuant to the VCP Precedent Agreement, VCP agreed to provide Rio Grande Gas Supply with natural gas transportation services on the Valley Crossing Pipeline in a quantity sufficient to match the commissioning requirements of each proposed liquefaction train of the Terminal. VCP’s obligation to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the necessary interconnection to the Terminal and the Pipeline is conditioned on its receipt, no later than December 31, 2023, of notice that Rio Grande Gas Supply or its affiliate has issued a full notice to proceed to the EPC Contractor for the construction of the Terminal. VCP will be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the tap, riser and valve facilities (the “VCP Transporter Facilities”), which shall connect to Rio Grande Gas Supply’s custody transfer meter and such other facilities as necessary in order for the Terminal to receive gas from the VCP Transporter Facilities (the “Rio Grande Gas Supply Facilities”). Rio Grande Gas Supply will be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the Rio Grande Gas Supply Facilities. Under the VCP Precedent Agreement, in consideration for the provision of the commissioning transportation services, VCP will be remunerated on the same dollar-per-dekatherm, take-or-pay basis as set forth in the RBPL Precedent Agreement for the duration of such commissioning services, all in compliance with the federal and state authorizations associated with the Valley Crossing Pipeline.

If Rio Grande or its affiliate fail to issue a full notice to proceed to the EPC Contractor on or prior to December 31, 2023, Buyer has the right to sell the Equity Interests back to NextDecadeHGC NEXT INV LLC and NextDecade LLC has the right to repurchase the Equity Interests from Buyer, in each case at a price not to exceed $23 million.

Series C Convertible Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements

As previously disclosed,Ninteenth Investment Company.

In June 2023, we entered into a Series C Convertible Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (collectively, the “Series C Stock Purchase Agreements”)common stock purchase agreement for three private placements with eachGlobal LNG North America Corp., an affiliate of (i) York Capital Management, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (“York”), (ii) certain affiliates of Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP (“Bardin Hill”), and (iii) Avenue Energy Opportunities Fund II, L.P (“Avenue” and together with York and Bardin Hill, the “Purchasers”)TotalEnergies, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell, and the Purchasers agreed to purchasewe sold a total of approximately 44.9 million shares of the Company’s Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), together with associated warrants,our common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $24.5 million.  The consummation$219.4 million in three transactions occurring in June, July and September 2023.
On July 12, 2023, in conjunction with the positive FID of Phase 1 of the transactions contemplatedRio Grande LNG Facility, we and certain of our subsidiaries closed an approximately $18.4 billion project financing for Phase 1. This financing underscores the critical role that LNG and natural gas are expected to play in the global energy transition and included the closing of:
A joint venture agreement which included approximately $5.9 billion of financial commitments from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), GIC, Mubadala Investment Company, and TotalEnergies;
A commitment by the Series C StockCompany to invest approximately $283 million in Phase 1, which was completed in September 2023 and included $125 million of pre-FID capital investments and additional funds contributed from the proceeds of sales of the Company’s common stock to an affiliate of TotalEnergies;
Senior secured non-recourse bank credit facilities of $11.6 billion with a 7-year maturity, consisting of $11.1 billion in construction term loans and a $500 million working capital facility; and
An offering of $700 million senior secured non-recourse private placement notes, which will mature in July 2033 and will accrue interest at a fixed rate of 6.67%.
We hold equity interests in the Phase 1 joint venture that entitle us to receive up to 20.8% of the distributions of available cash during operations.
Rio Grande has entered into several transactions to refinance a portion of the Phase 1 bank facilities, including:
In September 2023, Rio Grande entered into a credit agreement with a group of lenders for $356 million of senior secured loans to finance a portion of Phase 1. The senior secured loans were disbursed in one advance of $356 million on September 15, 2023, which resulted in a reduction in the commitments outstanding under Rio Grande’s existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured loans will mature in July 2033, accrue interest at a fixed rate of 6.72%, and rank pari passu to Rio Grande’s existing senior secured financings.
In December 2023, Rio Grande entered into a credit agreement with a group of lenders for $251 million of senior secured loans to finance a portion of Phase 1. The senior secured loans were disbursed in one advance of $251 million on December 28, 2023, which resulted in a reduction in the commitments outstanding under Rio Grande’s existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured loans will be amortized over a period of approximately 18 years beginning in mid-2029, with a final maturity
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in September 2047. These senior secured loans bear interest at a fixed rate of 7.11% and rank pari passu to Rio Grande’s existing senior secured financings.
In February 2024, Rio Grande issued and sold $190 million of senior secured notes to finance a portion of Phase 1. The senior secured notes were issued on February 9, 2024 and resulted in a reduction in the commitments outstanding under Rio Grande's existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured notes will be amortized over a period of approximately 18 years beginning in mid-2029, with a final maturity in June 2047. The senior secured notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 6.85% and rank pari passu to Rio Grande's existing senior secured financings.
As of December 2023, Rio Grande’s outstanding fixed-rate debt and executed interest rate swaps have reduced its exposure to movements in interest rates for approximately 84% of the debt currently projected to be incurred in support of Phase 1 construction.
In January 2024, our wholly-owned subsidiary Next Decade LNG, LLC entered into a credit agreement that provides for a $50 million senior secured revolving credit facility with additional capacity of $12.5 million to cover interest. Borrowings under the revolving credit facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including development costs related to Train 4 at the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Borrowings bear interest at SOFR or the base rate plus an applicable margin as defined in the credit agreement. The revolving credit facility and interest term loan mature at the earlier of two years from the closing date or 10 business days after a positive FID on Train 4.
Rio Grande has syndicated a portion of its bank credit facility commitments, resulting in a supporting lender group of approximately 40 international banks.
Rio Grande LNG Facility Activity
We are constructing the Rio Grande LNG Facility on the north shore of the Brownsville Ship Channel in south Texas through our partially owned subsidiary Rio Grande. The site is located on 984 acres of land which has been leased long-term and includes 15,000 feet of frontage on the Brownsville Ship Channel.
The Rio Grande LNG Facility has received all necessary approvals and authorizations required for construction, including those from the FERC.
In July 2023, construction commenced on Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility following a positive FID and the closing of project financing by Rio Grande, which owns Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Phase 1 includes three liquefaction trains with a total expected nameplate capacity of approximately 17.6 MTPA of LNG production, two 180,000 cubic meter full containment LNG storage tanks, two jetty berthing structures designed to load LNG carriers up to 216,000 cubic meters in capacity, and associated site infrastructure and common facilities including feed gas pretreatment facilities, electric and water utilities, two totally enclosed ground flares for the LNG tanks and marine facilities, two ground flares for the liquefaction trains, roads, levees surrounding the entire site, and warehouses, administrative, operations control room and maintenance buildings.
As of January 2024, progress on Trains 1 through 3 is in line with the schedule under the EPC Contracts. Recent construction activities have included the start of Train 1 foundation concrete pours, piling activity for the LNG tanks, and construction of the levee and marine offloading facility. Additionally, the civil works program has progressed via the deep soil mixing program, and meaningful progress has been made on the shoreline restoration program, with the majority of shoreline reclamation nearing completion, shoreline protection work has commenced. Bechtel has also made meaningful progress on purchase orders for Train 3.
LNG Sale and Purchase Agreements occurred at multiple closings
In January 2023, Rio Grande entered into a 15-year LNG SPA with Itochu Corporation (“Itochu”) for the supply of 1.0 mtpa of LNG, indexed to Henry Hub and sold on ora free-on-board (“FOB”) basis from the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
In June 2023, Rio Grande entered into a 20-year LNG SPA with TotalEnergies SE (“TotalEnergies”) for the supply of 5.4 mtpa of LNG, indexed to Henry Hub and sold on an FOB basis from the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
These SPAs, in addition to the other Phase 1 LNG SPAs previously in place, are currently effective, and deliveries of LNG under these SPAs will commence on the respective Date of First Commercial Delivery (“DFCD”), which is primarily tied to the substantial completion of guaranteed substantial completion dates of specific trains as defined in each SPA.
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Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC”) Agreements
On July 12, 2023, Rio Grande issued final notice to proceed to Bechtel Energy Inc. under the EPC agreements for Phase 1. Total expected capital costs for Phase 1 are estimated to be approximately $18.0 billion, including estimated owner’s costs, contingencies, and financing costs, and including amounts spent prior to March 22, 2021.

For additional detailsFID under limited notices to proceed.

NEXT Carbon Solutions
NEXT Carbon Solutions offers proposed end-to-end CCS solutions for industrial facilities. Leveraging our team’s engineering and project management experience, we have developed proprietary processes that are expected to lower the capital and operating costs of deploying CCS on industrial facilities. We expect to partner with customers to invest in the Series Cdeployment of CCS to reduce and permanently store CO2 emissions. We believe that integrating CCS with an industrial facility’s operations has the potential to increase the value of the industrial facility. Through proposed commercial agreements and investments, NEXT Carbon Solutions will seek to share in the value created from this integration.
Private Placements of Company Common Stock Purchase Agreements
In February 2023, we sold 5,835,277 shares of Company common stock for gross proceeds of $35 million to HGC NEXT INV LLC and Ninteenth Investment Company.
On June 13, 2023, we entered into a common stock purchase agreement for three private placements (the “TTE Private Placement”) with Global LNG North America Corp., an affiliate of TotalEnergies SE (the “TTE Purchaser”), pursuant to which we agreed to sell (i) 8,026,165 shares (the “Tranche 1 Shares”) of Company common stock at a purchase price of $4.9837 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $40.0 million, (ii) promptly after conversion of the Convertible Preferred Stock, 22,072,103 shares (the “Tranche 2 Shares”) of Company common stock, at a purchase price of $4.9837 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $110.0 million, and (iii) promptly after, and conditioned upon, receipt of approval of the Company’s stockholders, a number of shares of Company common stock such that, following the conversion of the Convertible Preferred Stock, the TTE Purchaser will own, when including the Tranche 1 Shares and Tranche 2 Shares, an aggregate of 17.5% of the Company common stock then-outstanding (the “Tranche 3 Shares”). On June 14, 2023, the Company closed the sale of the Tranche 1 Shares, and on July 26, we closed the sale of the Tranche 2 Shares. On September 8, 2023, we closed the sale of 14,802,055 shares of common stock (Tranche 3 Shares) for a purchase price of $69.4 million.
FID Equity Transactions
On July 12, 2023, in conjunction with the positive FID to construct Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Super Holdings, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of the Company (the “NextDecade Member”) entered into an amended and restated limited liability company agreement (the “JV Agreement”) of Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“Intermediate Holdings”), and the transactionsother members party thereto. The members of Intermediate Holdings, including the NextDecade Member and subsidiaries of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), GIC, Mubadala Investment Company (collectively with GIP and GIC, the “Financial Investors”), and TotalEnergies, committed to fund $6.2 billion in connection therewith, please referaggregate to our Current Report on Form 8-K filedIntermediate Holdings. The NextDecade Member committed to fund cash contributions of approximately $283 million to Intermediate Holdings, including approximately $125 million in contributions paid before FID. The NextDecade Member completed its remaining equity commitment in September 2023 utilizing proceeds from the sale of common stock to the TTE Purchaser as described above.
FID Debt Transactions
On July 12, 2023, Rio Grande entered into a Credit Agreement (the “CD Credit Agreement”) that provides for the following facilities:
A construction/term loan in an amount up to $10.3 billion available to partially finance the design, engineering, development, procurement, construction, installation, testing, completion, ownership, operation and maintenance of Phase 1, to pay certain fees and expenses associated with the SecuritiesCD Credit Agreement and Exchange Commissionthe loans made thereunder; and
A revolving loan and letter of credit facility in an amount up to $500 million available to Rio Grande to finance certain working capital requirements of Rio Grande.
On July 12, 2023, Rio Grande entered into the TCF Credit Agreement (the “TCF Credit Agreement”) that provides for a construction/term loan facility in an aggregate amount up to $800 million available to Rio Grande to partially finance the design, engineering, development, procurement, construction, installation, testing, completion,
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ownership, operation and maintenance of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and to pay certain fees and expenses associated with the TCF Credit Agreement and the loans made thereunder. TotalEnergies Holdings SAS (“Total Holdings”) agreed to provide contingent support to the lenders under the TCF Credit Agreement pursuant to, and subject to the terms and conditions of, a support agreement entered into on July 12, 2023, pursuant to which Total Holdings agreed that it will pay past due amounts owing from Rio Grande under the TCF Credit Agreement upon demand.
On July 12, 2023, Rio Grande entered into a Note Purchase Agreement through which it sold $700 million of 6.67% Senior Secured Notes due 2033 (the “Notes”). The Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture between Rio Grande and Wilmington Trust, National Association as trustee and accrue interest that is payable semi-annually in arrears on March 18, 2021.

COVID-19 Pandemic30 and its EffectSeptember 30 each year, beginning on our Business

September 30, 2023.

Conversion of Convertible Preferred Stock, Issuance of Common Stock
In connection with FID of Phase 1, the Company’s convertible preferred stock converted into approximately 59.5 million shares of common stock on July 26, 2023. Refer to Note 10 — Preferred Stock and Common Stock Warrants for further information.
Rio Grande Refinancings
On September 15, 2023, Rio Grande entered into a credit agreement with a group of lenders for $356 million of senior secured loans to finance a portion of Phase 1. The business environmentsenior secured loans were disbursed in one advance for $356 million on September 15, 2023, which we operate has been impacted by the recent downturnresulted in a reduction in the energy market as well as the outbreakcommitments outstanding under Rio Grande’s existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured loans will mature in July 2033, accrue interest at a fixed rate of COVID-196.72%, and its progressionrank pari passu to Rio Grande’s existing senior secured financings.
In December 2023, Rio Grande entered into a pandemiccredit agreement with a group of lenders for $251 million of senior secured loans to finance a portion of Phase 1. The senior secured loans were disbursed in March 2020. We have modified and may continue to modify certain business and workforce practices to protect the safety and welfareone advance of our employees. Furthermore, we have implemented and may continue to implement certain mitigation efforts to ensure business continuity. We will continue to actively monitor the situation and may take further actions altering our business operations that we determine are$251 million on December 28, 2023, which resulted in a reduction in the best interestscommitments outstanding under Rio Grande’s existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured loans will be amortized over a period of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers,approximately 18 years beginning in mid-2029, with a final maturity in September 2047. These senior secured loans bear interest at a fixed rate of 7.11% and stakeholders, or as required by federal, state, or local authorities. It is not clear whatrank pari passu to Rio Grande’s existing senior secured financings.
In February 2024, Rio Grande entered into a note purchase agreement through which it sold $190 million of senior secured notes to finance a portion of Phase 1. The senior secured notes were issued on February 9, 2024, and resulted in a reduction in the potential effects any such alterations or modifications may have on our business, including the effects on our customers, employees,commitments outstanding under Rio Grande's existing bank credit facilities for Phase 1. These senior secured notes will be amortized over a period of approximately 18 years beginning in mid-2029, with a final maturity in June 2047. The senior secured notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 6.85% and prospects, or on our financial results beyond 2020.

rank
pari passu to Rio Grande's existing senior secured financings.
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Table of Contents

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Capital Resources

We have funded

Following FID of Phase 1 and continuethe project financing obtained by Rio Grande, NextDecade and Rio Grande operate with independent capital structures. Although our sources and uses are presented from a consolidated standpoint, certain restrictions under debt and equity agreements limit the ability of NextDecade and Rio Grande to use and distribute cash. Rio Grande is required to deposit all cash received under its debt agreements into restricted accounts. The usage or withdrawal of such cash is restricted to the payment of obligations related to Phase 1 and other restricted payments, and such cash and capital resources are not available to service the obligations of NextDecade.
Phase 1 FID Rio Grande Financing
In connection with the FID of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, Rio Grande obtained approximately $6.2 billion in equity capital commitments, inclusive of commitments from the NextDecade Member, entered into senior secured non-recourse bank credit facilities of $11.6 billion, consisting of $11.1 billion in construction term loans and a $500 million working capital facility, and closed a $700 million senior secured non-recourse private notes offering. Rio Grande will utilize these capital resources to fund the developmentapproximately $18.0 billion total cost of Phase 1, including EPC cost, which was approximately $12.0 billion at FID, and to fund owner’s costs and contingencies, dredging for the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project, conservation of more than 4,000 acres of wetland and wildlife habitat area and installation of utilities, and interest during construction and other financing costs.
Near Term Liquidity and Capital Resources of NextDecade Corporation
In connection with the FID of Phase 1, the Company, through NextDecade Member, its wholly owned subsidiary, committed to invest approximately $283 million, including $125 million of pre-FID capital investments, into construction of Phase 1 of the TerminalRio Grande LNG Facility. As of September 30, 2023, the Company had funded its full equity commitment, utilizing proceeds of the sale of the third tranche of common stock to the TTE Purchaser.
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Prior to the FID on Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, our primary cash needs historically were funding development activities in support of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and general working capital needsour CCS projects, which included payments of initial direct costs of the Rio Grande site lease and expenses in support of engineering and design activities, regulatory approvals and compliance, commercial and marketing activities and corporate overhead. We spent approximately $97.7 million on such development activities year-to-date through FID on July 12, 2023, which we funded through our cash on hand and proceeds from the issuances of equity and equity-based securities. Since January 2019,Following the FID of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, costs associated with the Phase 1 EPC contracts, Rio Grande site lease, and other Phase 1 related costs are being funded by debt and equity proceeds received by Rio Grande.
Because our businesses and assets are under construction or in development, we have not historically generated significant cash flow from operations, nor do we expect to do so until liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG Facility begin operating or until we install CCS systems at third-party industrial facilities. We intend to fund development activities for the foreseeable future with cash and cash equivalents on hand, available capacity under our revolving credit facility, and through the sale of additional equity, equity-based or debt securities in us or in our subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that we will succeed in selling equity or equity-based securities or, if successful, that the capital we raise will not be expensive or dilutive to stockholders.
Our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 have been prepared on the basis that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. Based on our balance of cash and cash equivalents of $38.2 million at December 31, 2023, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that our consolidated financial statements were issued. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend on managing certain operating and overhead costs and our ability to raise capital through equity, equity-based or debt financings. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Our capital raising eventsactivities since January 1, 2023 have included the following:

In May 2019,February 2023, we sold an aggregate of 20,945 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, at $1,000 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $20.945 million to York Tactical Energy Fund, L.P. and York Tactical Energy Fund PIV-AN, L.P., (ii) Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP (formerly known as Halcyon Capital Management LP), severally on behalf of certain funds or accounts managed by it or its affiliates, (iii) Valinor Management, L.P., severally on behalf of certain funds or accounts for which it is investment manager (“Valinor”), and (iv) HGC NEXT INV LLC. Series B Warrants were issued together with such shares of Series B Preferred Stock.

In October 2019, we sold an aggregate of 7,974,4825,835,277 shares of Company common stock at $6.27 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $50.0 million to Ninteenth Investment Company LLC.

$35.0 million.

In March 2021,June, July and September 2023, we sold an aggregate of 24,50044,900,323 shares of Series C Preferred Stock at $1,000 per shareCompany common stock in the three tranches of the TTE Private Placement for an aggregate purchase priceapproximately $219.4 million.
In January 2024, NextDecade LLC executed a credit agreement that provides for a $50 million revolving credit facility that may be used for general corporate purposes and working capital requirements of $24.5 million to the Series C Purchasers together with associated warrants.

SourcesNextDecade LLC and Uses of Cash

The following table summarizes the sources and uses of our cash for the periods presented (in thousands):

  

Year Ended

  

December 31,

  

2020

 

2019

Operating cash flows

 $(26,253) $(40,700)

Investing cash flows

  18,521   (16,693)

Financing cash flows

  14,604   69,960 
         

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

  6,872   12,567 

Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period

  15,736   3,169 

Cash and cash equivalents – end of period

 $22,608  $15,736 

Operating Cash Flows

Operating cash outflows during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $26.3 million and $40.7 million, respectively. The decrease in operating cash outflows in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarilyits subsidiaries, including development costs related to the decrease in invitation to bid contract costsfourth liquefaction train and related common facilities at the Rio Grande LNG Facility.

Long Term Liquidity and Capital Resources of $10.2 million and a decrease in general and administrative costs of $2.5 million.

Investing Cash Flows

Investing cash inflows during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $18.5 million and investing cash outflows during the year ended December 31, 2019 was $16.7 million. The investing cash inflows in 2020 were primarily the result of the sale of investment securities of  $62.0 million partially offset by cash used in the development of the Terminal of $32.4 million and cash used in the acquisition of other assets of  $10.9 million. The investing cash outflows in 2019 were the result of cash used in the development of the Terminal and the Pipeline of $27.2 million and a net redemption of $10.5 million in investment securities.

Financing Cash Flows

Financing cash inflows during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $14.6 million and $70.0 million, respectively. Financing cash inflows in 2020 were primarily the result of proceeds from the sale of Rio Bravo of  $15.0 million. Financing cash inflows in 2019 were the result of $71.0 million of proceeds from the issuance of preferred and common equity offset by $0.3 million of equity issuance costs and $0.7 million of shares repurchased related to share based compensation.

Pre-FID Liquidity

In 2020, we incurred approximately $67 million on pre-FID development activities in support of the Terminal. To preserve pre-FID liquidity, we have implemented certain measures to manage costs:

Since December 31, 2019, full-time headcount has decreased 38 percent.

Our Chief Executive Officer and certain other members of our executive team voluntarily reduced their base salaries by ten percent during 2020.

NextDecade Corporation

We and Bechtel have agreed to a limited scope of ongoing work which will provide for continued engineering progress for the Terminal.

We have reduced our office space under lease and deferred additional information technology spending until FID is achieved.

We expect pre-FID development spending to average approximately $3 million per month through year-end 2021. We believe that the measures taken to manage costs will not negatively affect our ability to successfully deliver the Terminal and will create value for stockholders.

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Capital Development Activities

We are primarily engaged in developing the Terminal, which may require additional capital to support further project development, engineering, regulatory approvals and compliance, and commercial activities in advance of a FID made to finance and construct the Terminal. Even if successfully completed, the Terminal will not begin to operate and generatereceive significant cash flows until at least several years from now. ConstructionPhase 1 of the Terminal would not beginRio Grande LNG Facility until among otherit is operational, and the commercial operation date for the first train of Phase 1 is expected to occur in late 2027 based on the schedule under the EPC contracts. Any future phases of development at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects will similarly take an extended period of time to develop, construct and become operational and will require significant capital deployment.

We currently expect that the long-term capital requirements for project financing, all required federal, statefuture phases of development at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and local permits have been obtained.any CCS projects will be financed predominantly through the proceeds from future debt, equity-based, and equity offerings by us or our subsidiaries. As a result, our business success will depend, to a significant extent, upon our ability to obtain financing required to fund future phases of development and construction at the funding necessary to construct the Terminal,Rio Grande LNG Facility and any CCS projects, to bring itthem into operation on a commercially viable basis and to finance ourany required increases in staffing, operating and expansion costs during that process.

We have engaged SG Americas Securities, LLC (a business unit of Société Générale) and Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. to advise and assist us in raising capital for post-FID construction activities.

We currently expect that the long-term capital requirements for the Terminal will be financed predominately through project financing and proceeds from future debt, equity-based, and equity offerings by us. There can be no assurance that we will succeed in securing additional debt and/or equity financing in the future to fund future phases of development and construction at the Rio Grande LNG Facility or complete the Terminalany CCS projects or, if successful, that the capital we raise will not be expensive or dilutive to stockholders. Additionally, if these types of financing are not available, we will be required to seek alternative sources of financing, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

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Table

Sources and Uses of ContentsCash
The following table summarizes the sources and uses of our cash for the periods presented (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Operating cash flows$(73,620)$(40,076)
Investing cash flows(1,752,800)(40,888)
Financing cash flows2,058,109 118,201 
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash231,689 37,237 
Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period62,789 25,552 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash – end of period$294,478 $62,789 
Operating Cash Flows
Operating cash outflows during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $73.6 million and $40.1 million, respectively. The increase in operating cash outflows in 2023 compared to 2022 was primarily due to an increase in employee costs and professional fees paid to consultants as we prepared for and achieved a positive FID in Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility in July 2023.
Investing Cash Flows
Investing cash outflows during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $1,752.8 million and $40.9 million, respectively. Investing cash outflows primarily consist of cash used in the construction and development of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. The increase in investing cash outflows in 2023 compared to 2022 was primarily due to a positive FID in Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility, the mobilization of the Bechtel workforce that began in July 2023 and subsequent progress payments made to Bechtel. 
Financing Cash Flows
Financing cash inflows during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $2,058.1 million and $118.2 million, respectively. Financing cash inflows during 2023 are primarily comprised of proceeds from the issuance of debt of $2,083.0 million, proceeds from the sale of equity in subsidiaries of $457.7 million and proceeds from the sale of Company common stock of $254.4 million. The cash inflows for 2023 were partially offset by debt and equity issuances costs of $494.3 million, repayment of debt of $233.0 million and shares repurchased related to share-based compensation of $9.6 million.
Contractual Obligations

We are committed to make cash payments in the future pursuant to certain of our contracts. The following table summarizes certain contractual obligations (in thousands) in place as of December 31, 2020:

  

Total

 

2021

 2022-2023 2024-2025 

Thereafter

Operating lease obligations

 $2,685  $2,685  $  $  $ 
Other  85   53   32       

Total

 $2,770  $2,738  $32  $  $ 


2023:

Total20242025-20262027-2028Thereafter
Operating lease obligations$243,581 $8,029 $17,137 $19,174 $199,241 
Other2,800 2,800 — — — 
Total$246,381 $10,829 $17,137 $19,174 $199,241 
Operating lease obligations primarily relate to ourthe Rio Grande Site Leasesite lease and our office spacespaces in Houston, Texas.

Texas and Singapore. A discussion of these obligations can be found at Note 6 Note 7 – Leases and Note 14 – Commitments and Contingenciesof our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Results of Operations

The following table summarizes costs, expenses and other income for the yearyears ended December 31, 20202023 and 20192022 (in thousands):

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

  

Change

 

Revenues

 $  $  $ 

General and administrative expenses

  20,213   22,548   (2,335)

Invitation to Bid Contract Costs

     10,163   (10,163)

Land option and lease expenses

  1,603   2,039   (436)

Depreciation expense

  196   251   (55)

Operating loss

  (22,012)  (35,001)  12,989 

Gain (loss) on Common Stock Warrant Liabilities

  7,870   (2,657)  10,527 
Loss on redemption of investment securities  (412)     (412)

Interest income, net

  243   1,718   (1,475)

Other

  (18)  69   (87)

Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation

  (14,329)  (35,871)  21,542 

Preferred stock dividends

  (14,327)  (11,164)  (3,163)

Deemed dividends on Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

  (128)  (1,517)  1,389 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

 $(28,784) $(48,552) $19,768 

Year Ended December 31,
20232022Change
Revenues$— $— $— 
General and administrative expense111,468 49,093 62,375 
Development expense, net4,891 4,101 790 
Lease expense6,141 1,119 5,022 
Depreciation expense168 162 
Operating loss(122,668)(54,475)(68,193)
Loss on common stock warrant liabilities(1,879)(5,747)3,868 
Derivative loss, net(44,803)— (44,803)
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest(50,285)— (50,285)
Loss on debt extinguishment(9,531)— (9,531)
Other income, net7,526 151 7,375 
Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation(221,640)(60,071)(161,569)
Less: net loss attributable to non-controlling interest(59,379)— (59,379)
Less: preferred stock dividends20,484 24,282 (3,798)
Net loss attributable to common stockholders$(182,745)$(84,353)$(98,392)
Our consolidated net loss was $14.3$182.7 million, or $0.24$(0.94) per common share (basic and diluted), for the year ended December 31, 20202023 compared to a net loss of $35.9$84.4 million, or $0.45$(0.65) per common share (basic and diluted), for the year ended December 31, 2019.2022. The $21.5$98.4 million decreaseincrease in net loss was primarily a result of a decrease in invitation to bid contract costs, a decreaseincreases in general and administrative expense, derivative loss, net, interest expense, net of capitalized interest, and an increase in the gainloss on common stock warrant liabilities, partially offset by a decrease in interest income,debt extinguishment, discussed separately below.

General and administrative expenses during the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased $2.32023 increased $62.4 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2019,2022, primarily due primarily to decreases in salaries and wages, professional fees, office expenses, travel expenses and marketing and conference sponsorship costs of $11.7 million, partially offset by an increase in share-based compensation expense of $9.3 million.$19.1 million and increases in employee costs and professional fees. The increase in share-based compensation expense is primarily a result of forfeitures of restricted stock duringfor the year ended December 31, 2019.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, there were no invitation to bid contract costs compared to approximately $10.2 million incurred during the year ended December 31, 2019.  The decrease in invitation to bid contract costs is due to the conclusion of the competitive EPC bid process. 

The gain on Common Stock Warrant Liabilities of approximately $7.9 million in 20202023 was primarily due to the recognition of compensation cost on restricted stock awards and units that vested at FID of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. Employee costs and professional fees increased during 2023 as we prepared for and achieved a decrease inpositive FID on Phase 1 of the price of common stock from $6.14 per share at December 31, 2019 to $2.09 per share at December 31, 2020.

Interest income,Rio Grande LNG Facility.

Derivative loss, net during the year ended December 31, 2020 decreased $1.52023 of $44.8 million comparedis due to a decrease in forward SOFR rates from July 12, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest during the year ended December 31, 2019 due2023 of $50.3 million represents total interest cost on debt of $84.7 million, net of capitalized interest of $34.4 million.
Net loss attributable to lower average balances maintained in our cash, cash equivalent and investment securities accounts.

Preferred stock dividends of $14.3 million in 2020 consisted of dividends paid-in-kind with the issuance of an additional 7,310 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 6,967 additional shares of Series B Preferred Stock.  

Deemed dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock fornon-controlling interest during the year ended December 31, 20202023 of $59.4 million is due to the sale of equity in Intermediate Holdings in July 2023 and December 31, 2019 represents the accretionnon-controlling interests share of the beneficial conversion feature associated with the Series A Preferred Stock issued in 2018. 

Intermediate Holdings net loss.
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Table of Contents

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020.

Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates

The preparation of our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes. Management evaluates its estimates and related assumptions regularly, including those related to the value of properties, plant, and equipment, share-based compensation, Common Stock Warrantcommon stock warrant liabilities, and income taxes. Changes in facts and circumstances or additional information may result in revised estimates, and actual results may differ from these estimates. Management considers the following to be its most critical accounting estimates that involve significant judgment.

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Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

A long-lived asset, including an intangible asset, is evaluated for potential impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying value may not be recoverable. Recoverability generally is determined by comparing the carrying value of the asset to the expected undiscounted future cash flows of the asset. If the carrying value of the asset is not recoverable, the amount of impairment loss is measured as the excess, if any, of the carrying value of the asset over its estimated fair value. We use a variety of fair value measurement techniques when market information for the same or similar assets does not exist. Projections of future operating results and cash flows may vary significantly from results. Management reviews its estimates of cash flows on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic and commodity price environment.

Derivative Instruments
All derivative instruments, other than those that satisfy specific exceptions, are recorded at fair value. We record changes in the fair value of our derivative positions based on the value for which the derivative instrument could be exchanged between willing parties. If market quotes are not available to estimate fair value, management's best estimate of fair value is based on the quoted market price of derivatives with similar characteristics or determined through industry-standard valuation approaches. Such evaluation may involve significant judgment and the results are based on expected future events or conditions, particularly for those valuations using inputs unobservable in the market.
Our derivative instruments consist of interest rate swaps. We value our interest rate swaps using observable inputs including interest rate curves, risk adjusted discount rates, credit spreads and other relevant data.
Gains and losses on derivative instruments are recognized in earnings. The ultimate fair value of our derivative instruments is uncertain, and we believe that it is reasonably possible that a change in the estimated fair value could occur in the near future as interest rates change.
Share-based Compensation

The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of share-based payment awards represent our best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. As a result, if factors change and we use different assumptions, our share-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.

For additional information regarding our share-based compensation, see Note 12 – 14 Share-based Compensation of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Valuation of Common Stock Warrant Liabilities

The fair value of Common Stock Warrant liabilities is determined using a Monte Carlo valuation model. Determining the appropriate fair value model and calculating the fair value of Common Stock Warrant requires considerable judgment. Any change in the estimates used may cause the value to be higher or lower than that reported. The estimated volatility of our common stockCommon Stock Warrants at the date of issuance, and at each subsequent reporting period, is based on our historical volatility. The risk-free interest rate is based on rates published by the government for bonds with maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the Common Stock Warrants at the valuation date. The expected life of the Common Stock Warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term.

The Common Stock Warrants are not traded in an active market and the fair value is determined using valuation techniques. The estimates may be significantly different from those recorded in the consolidated financial statements because of the use of judgment and the inherent uncertainty in estimating the fair value of these instruments that are not quoted in an active market. All changes in the fair value are recorded in the consolidated statement of operations each reporting period.

For additional information regarding the valuation of Common Stock Warrant liabilities, see Note 10 Preferred Stock and Common Stock Warrants of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income Taxes

Provisions for income taxes are based on taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred taxes on temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the Consolidated Financial Statements. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are included in the Consolidated Financial Statements at currently enacted income tax rates applicable to the period in which the deferred tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. As changes in tax laws or rates are enacted, deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted through the current period’s provision for income taxes. We routinely assess our deferred tax assets and reduce such assets by a valuation allowance if we deem it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. This
44


assessment requires significant judgment and is based upon our assessment of our ability to generate future taxable income among other factors.

Recent Accounting Standards

For descriptionsadditional information regarding the valuation of recently issued accounting standards,deferred tax assets, see Note 15 Recent Accounting Pronouncements— Income Taxes of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Recent Accounting Standards
The Company does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements or related disclosures.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not required to provide the information under this item.

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45

Table of Contents

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

NextDecade Corporation and Subsidiaries

Page

Supplemental Information to Consolidated Financial Statements – Summarized Quarterly Financial Data

47

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46

Table of Contents

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Board of Directors and Stockholders

NextDecade Corporation

Opinion on the financial statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of NextDecade Corporation (a Delaware corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity series A and series B convertible preferred stock, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively(collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Companyas of December 31, 20202023 and 2019,2022, and the results of itsoperations and itscash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred operating losses since its inception and management expects operating losses and negative cash flows to continue for the foreseeable future. These conditions, along with other matters as set forth in Note 1, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical audit matters

matter

The critical audit mattersmatter communicated below are mattersis a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that werewas communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relaterelates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit mattersmatter below, providing a separate opinionsopinion on the critical audit mattersmatter or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Valuationit relates.

Consolidation of common stock warrant liabilities

Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC under the variable interest entity model

As described further in Note 10note 2 to the financial statements, when the Company had $4.2 million of common stock warrant liabilities as of December 31, 2020. At each balance sheet date,has a variable interest in another legal entity, management determinesevaluates whether that legal entity is within the estimated fair value of common stock warrant liabilities using a Monte Carlo valuation method. The following qualitative information is used by management to determine the fair value measurementscope of the common stock warrant liabilities: stock price, exercise price, risk-free rate, volatility,variable interest entity ("VIE") model and, if so, whether the warrants term in years, among other inputs.Company is the primary beneficiary of the VIE. Management consolidates a VIE if the Company's involvement indicates that it is the primary beneficiary. The Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE if it has both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. We identified the valuationconsolidation of common stock warrant liabilitiesRio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC under the VIE model (“consolidation under the VIE model”) as a critical audit matter.

47


The principal considerations for our determination thatare (i) the valuation of common stock warrant liabilities is a critical audit matter are that (i) there was significant judgment by management when determining whether the estimated volatility, risk-free interest rate,Company is the primary beneficiary of the VIE based on whether the Company has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance, and the expected life ofobligation to absorb losses or the common stock warrants,right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE and (ii) the audita high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in performing procedures andwhen evaluating the audit evidence obtained from these procedures.

related to the purpose of the VIE, rights and obligations of the variable interest holders, mechanisms for the resolution of disputes among variable interest holders, and other executed agreements with the legal entity and its variable interest holders.

Our audit procedures related to the valuation of common stock warrant liabilitiesconsolidation under the VIE model included the following, among others.

others:
We compared the rights of each party to underlying executed legal documents and discussed with management the purpose and design of the VIE.
We evaluated management's analysis of significant activities of the VIE such as capital decisions, financing decisions and operating decisions, and which variable interest holder has the power to direct such activities. In our evaluation, we considered the purpose and design of the entity, the composition of the board of directors and other legal rights of the parties, including the significance of the decision-making rights of each party in assessing which party has power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE, as well as the substance of the arrangements.
We tested the initial determination of non-controlling interests in Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC, and the allocation of subsequent profits and losses in Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Holdings, LLC for controlling and non-controlling interest holders based on what the holders of these interests may legally claim at the end of each reporting period.
/s/

GRANT THORNTON LLP

We testedhave served as the design of controls over the valuation of common stock warrant liabilities and gained an understanding of the valuation credentials and industry expertise of the third-party valuation group and valuation methodologies used.

Company’s auditor since 2018.

Houston, Texas

March 11, 2024

We tested the schedule of fully dilutive shares used to value common stock warrants by confirming outstanding common stock with the third-party transfer agent and testing the conversion value of preferred stock and dividend issuances.

With the assistance of Grant Thornton internal valuation specialists, we tested management’s and the third-party’s process for determining the fair value of common stock warrants, including evaluating significant assumptions used, testing supporting documents, and assessing reasonableness by comparing to historical trends and industry expectations. Certain key inputs/assumptions tested by us included the following:

o

Volatility

o

Risk-free interest rate

o

Warrant terms

2948

Sale of Rio Bravo accounting treatment

As described further in Note 5 to the financial statements, on March 2, 2020, the Company completed the sale of Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (“Rio Bravo”) to Spectra Energy Transmission II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge, Inc ("Enbridge"). In connection with the closing of the sale, the Company entered into a precedent agreement where Rio Bravo agreed to provide the Company with firm natural gas transportation services on the proposed interstate natural gas pipeline in a quantity sufficient to match the full operational capacity of each proposed liquefaction train of the liquefied natural gas terminal. Additionally, if the Company fails to issue a full notice to proceed to the terminal contractor on or prior to December 31, 2023, Enbridge has the right to sell the equity interests back to the Company, and the Company has the right to repurchase the equity interests from Enbridge. Due to the aforementioned terms of the agreement, the proceeds from the sale of the equity interests and additional costs incurred by Enbridge are presented as a non-current liability and the assets of Rio Bravo have not been de-recognized in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2020. We identified the sale of Rio Bravo accounting treatment as a critical audit matter.

The principal considerations for our determination that the sale of Rio Bravo accounting treatment is a critical audit matter are (i) the complexity of the terms of the sale agreement, (ii) the complexity and judgment involved in the determination of the applicable accounting authoritative guidance, and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in performing procedures and evaluating the audit evidence obtained from these procedures.

Our audit procedures related to the sale of Rio Bravo accounting treatment included the following, among others.

Weread the sale agreement.

Wetested management’s process for concluding on the accounting treatment of the sale of the equity interest in Rio Bravo, including management’s assumptions used to determine the accounting treatment in accordance with the sale agreement.

We used our firm specialist resources to assist in auditing management’s conclusions through an accounting consultation.

/s/ GRANT THORNTON LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.

Houston, Texas

March 25, 2021

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Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except per share data)

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Assets

        

Current assets

        

Cash and cash equivalents

 $22,608  $15,736 

Investment securities

  0   62,207 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

  670   859 

Total current assets

  23,278   78,802 

Property, plant and equipment, net

  161,662   134,591 

Operating lease right-of-use assets, net

  429   1,054 

Other non current assets

  16,299   6,748 

Total assets

 $201,668  $221,195 
         

Liabilities, Series A and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity

        

Current liabilities

        

Accounts payable

 $207  $11,912 

Share-based compensation liability

  182   182 

Accrued liabilities and other current liabilities

  1,032   8,751 
Current Common Stock Warrant liabilities  3,290   0 

Current operating lease liabilities

  432   698 

Total current liabilities

  5,143   21,543 

Non-current Common Stock Warrant liabilities

  874   12,034 

Non-current operating lease liabilities

  0   3 
Other non-current liabilities  22,916   0 

Total liabilities

  28,933   33,580 
         

Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)

          
         

Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, $1,000 per share liquidation preference, Issued and outstanding: 65,507 shares and 58,197 shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively

  55,522   48,084 

Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, $1,000 per share liquidation preference, Issued and outstanding: 62,612 shares and 55,645 shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively

  56,781   49,814 
         

Stockholders’ equity

        

Common stock, $0.0001 par value Authorized: 480.0 million shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, Issued and outstanding: 117.8 million shares and 117.3 million shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively

  12   12 

Treasury stock: 249,742 shares and 137,860 shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, at cost

  (1,031)  (685)

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value Authorized: 0.9 million, after designation of the Series A and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, Issued and outstanding: none at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019

  0   0 

Additional paid-in-capital

  209,481   224,091 

Accumulated deficit

  (148,030)  (133,701)

Total stockholders’ equity

  60,432   89,717 

Total liabilities, Series A and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock and stockholders’ equity

 $201,668  $221,195 
December 31,
20232022
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$38,241 $62,789 
Restricted cash256,237 — 
Derivative asset17,958 — 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets2,089 1,149 
Total current assets314,525 63,938 
Property, plant and equipment, net2,437,733 218,646 
Operating lease right-of-use assets170,827 1,474 
Debt issuance costs389,695 — 
Other non-current assets11,021 28,372 
Total assets$3,323,801 $312,430 
   
Liabilities, Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:  
Accounts payable$243,129 $1,084 
Accrued and other current liabilities299,264 23,184 
Common stock warrant liabilities6,851 — 
Operating lease liabilities3,143 1,093 
Total current liabilities552,387 25,361 
Common stock warrant liabilities1,818 6,790 
Operating lease liabilities145,962 465 
Derivative liability66,899 — 
Debt, net1,816,301 — 
Other non-current liabilities— 23,000 
Total liabilities2,583,367 55,616 
  
Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)
  
Series A-C convertible preferred stock (Note 10)— 202,443 
Stockholders’ equity:  
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 480.0 million authorized: 256.5 million and 143.5 million outstanding, respectively26 14 
Treasury stock: 2.2 million and 1.0 million respectively, at cost(14,214)(4,587)
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 0.5 million authorized after designation of the convertible preferred stock: none outstanding— — 
Additional paid-in-capital693,883 289,084 
Accumulated deficit(391,772)(230,140)
Total stockholders' equity287,923 54,371 
Non-controlling interest452,511 — 
Total equity740,434 54,371 
Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity$3,323,801 $312,430 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.

consolidated financial statements.
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Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except per share data)

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Revenues

 $0  $0 

Operating Expenses

        

General and administrative expenses

  20,213   22,548 

Invitation to Bid Contract Costs

  0   10,163 

Land option and lease expenses

  1,603   2,039 

Depreciation expense

  196   251 

Total operating expenses

  22,012   35,001 

Total operating loss

  (22,012)  (35,001)

Other income (expense)

        

Gain (loss) on Common Stock Warrant liabilities

  7,870   (2,657)
Loss on redemption of investment securities  (412)  0 

Interest income, net

  243   1,718 

Other

  (18)  69 

Total other income

  7,683   (870)

Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation

  (14,329)  (35,871)

Preferred stock dividends

  (14,327)  (11,164)

Deemed dividends on Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

  (128)  (1,517)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

 $(28,784) $(48,552)
         
Net loss per common share - basic and diluted $(0.24) $(0.45)
         

Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted

  117,524   109,057 
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Revenues$— $— 
Operating expenses:
General and administrative expense111,468 49,093 
Development expense, net4,891 4,101 
Lease expense6,141 1,119 
Depreciation expense168 162 
Total operating expenses122,668 54,475 
Total operating loss(122,668)(54,475)
Other income (expense):  
Loss on common stock warrant liabilities(1,879)(5,747)
Derivative loss, net(44,803)— 
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest(50,285)— 
Loss on debt extinguishment(9,531)— 
Other income, net7,526 151 
Total other expense(98,972)(5,596)
Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation(221,640)(60,071)
Less: net loss attributable to non-controlling interest(59,379)— 
Less: preferred stock dividends20,484 24,282 
Net loss attributable to common stockholders$(182,745)$(84,353)
   
Net loss per common share - basic & diluted$(0.94)$(0.65)
   
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic & diluted194,595130,136

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.

consolidated financial statements.
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Consolidated StatementsStatement of Stockholders’ Equity Series A and Series B Convertible Preferred Stock

(in thousands)

  Common Stock Treasury Stock                    
      Par         Additional     Total Series A Series B
      Value         Paid-in Accumulated Stockholders’ 

Convertible

 Convertible
  Shares Amount 

Shares

  Amount 

Capital

 Deficit Equity Preferred Stock Preferred Stock

Balance at January 1, 2019

  106,856  $11   6  $(35) $180,862  $(97,617) $83,221  $40,091  $26,159 

Adoption of ASC Topic 842

  0   0   0   0   0   (213)  (213)  0   0 

Adoption of ASU 2018-07

  0   0   0   0   2,116   0   2,116   0   0 

Share-based compensation

     0      0   (8,525)  0   (8,525)  0   0 

Restricted stock vesting

  510   0   0   0   495   0   495   0   0 

Issuance of common stock net of equity issuance costs

  10,094   1   0   0   61,824   0   61,825   0   0 

Shares repurchased related to share-based compensation

  (131)  0   131   (650)  0   0   (650)  0   0 

Issuance of Series B preferred stock

     0      0   0   0   0   0   19,009 

Preferred stock dividends

     0      0   (11,164)  0   (11,164)  6,476   4,646 

Deemed dividends - accretion of beneficial conversion feature

     0      0   (1,517)  0   (1,517)  1,517   0 

Net Loss

     0      0   0   (35,871)  (35,871)  0   0 

Balance at December 31, 2019

  117,329  $12   137  $(685) $224,091  $(133,701) $89,717  $48,084  $49,814 

Share-based compensation

     0      0   (155)  0   (155)  0   0 

Restricted stock vesting

  612   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   0 

Shares repurchased related to share-based compensation

  (112)  0   112   (346)  0   0   (346)  0   0 

Preferred stock dividends

     0      0   (14,327)  0   (14,327)  7,310   6,967 

Deemed dividends - accretion of beneficial conversion feature

     0      0   (128)  0   (128)  128   0 

Net Loss

     0      0   0   (14,329)  (14,329)  0   0 

Balance at December 31, 2020

  117,829  $12   249  $(1,031) $209,481  $(148,030) $60,432  $55,522  $56,781 
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Total stockholders' equity, beginning balances$54,371 $19,892 
Common stock:
Beginning balances14 12 
Issuance of common stock
Preferred stock conversion— 
Ending balances26 14 
Treasury Stock:
Beginning balance(4,587)(1,315)
Shares repurchased related to share-based compensation(9,627)(3,272)
Ending balance(14,214)(4,587)
Additional paid-in-capital:
Beginning balances289,084 191,264 
Share-based compensation26,600 7,472 
Issuance of common stock, net254,394 111,066 
Sale of equity in subsidiary(78,579)— 
Exercise of common stock warrants— 3,564 
Preferred stock dividends(20,484)(24,282)
Preferred stock conversion222,868 — 
Ending balances693,883 289,084 
Accumulated deficit:
Beginning balances(230,140)(170,069)
Subsidiary deconsolidation due to sale629 — 
Net loss(162,261)(60,071)
Ending balances(391,772)(230,140)
Total stockholders' equity287,923 54,371 
Non-controlling interest:
Beginning balance— — 
Sale of equity in subsidiary511,890 — 
Net loss(59,379)— 
Ending balance452,511 — 
Total equity, ending balances$740,434 $54,371 
Preferred Stock, Series A-C:
Beginning balance$202,443 $168,400 
Preferred stock dividends20,431 24,207 
Preferred stock conversion(222,874)— 
Issuance of preferred stock— 9,836 
Ending balance$— $202,443 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.

consolidated financial statements.
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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Operating activities:

        

Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation

 $(14,329) $(35,871)

Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities

        

Depreciation

  196   251 

Share-based compensation expense

  (341)  (9,646)

(Gain) loss on Common Stock Warrant liabilities

  (7,870)  2,657 

Gain on investment securities

  0   (100)
Realized loss (gain) on investment securities  423   (138)
Amortization of right-of-use assets  1,230   955 
Amortization of other non-current assets  1,360   127 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        

Prepaid expenses

  191   573 

Accounts payable

  (370)  207 
Operating lease liabilities  (874)  (1,624)

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

  (5,869)  1,909 

Net cash used in operating activities

  (26,253)  (40,700)

Investing activities:

        

Acquisition of property, plant and equipment

  (32,352)  (20,303)
Acquisition of other non-current assets  (10,911)  (6,875)

Proceeds from sale of investment securities

  61,972   77,000 

Purchase of investment securities

  (188)  (66,515)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

  18,521   (16,693)

Financing activities:

        
Proceeds from sale of Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC  15,000   0 

Proceeds from equity issuance

  0   70,945 
Preferred stock dividends  (50)  (42)

Equity issuance costs

  0   (293)

Shares repurchased related to share-based compensation

  (346)  (650)

Net cash provided by financing activities

  14,604   69,960 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

  6,872   12,567 

Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of period

  15,736   3,169 

Cash and cash equivalents – end of period

 $22,608  $15,736 
         

Non-cash investing activities:

        

Accounts payable for acquisition of property, plant and equipment

 $16  $11,351 

Accrued liabilities for acquisition of property, plant and equipment

  650   2,503 
Pipeline assets obtained in exchange for other non-current liabilities  7,916   0 
Common stock issued in lieu of cash  0   12,082 

Non-cash financing activities:

        

Paid-in-kind dividends on Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

  14,277   11,122 

Accretion of deemed dividends on Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

  128   1,517 
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Operating activities:
Net loss attributable to NextDecade Corporation$(221,640)$(60,071)
Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities  
Depreciation168 162 
Share-based compensation expense26,553 7,472 
Loss on common stock warrant liabilities1,879 5,747 
Derivative loss, net44,803 — 
Net cash provided by settlement of derivative instruments4,138 — 
Amortization of right-of-use assets2,980 756 
Gain on sale of assets(5,712)— 
Amortization of debt issuance costs41,390 — 
Loss on debt extinguishment9,531 — 
Interest expense26,432 — 
Amortization of other non-current assets— 354 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets(940)(314)
Accounts payable4,057 684 
Operating lease liabilities(179)(678)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities(7,080)5,812 
Net cash used in operating activities(73,620)(40,076)
Investing activities:
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment(1,737,636)(33,753)
Acquisition of other non-current assets(15,164)(7,135)
Net cash used in investing activities(1,752,800)(40,888)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from debt issuance2,083,000 — 
Proceeds from sale of equity in subsidiaries457,659 — 
Proceeds from sale of preferred stock— 10,500 
Proceeds from sale of common stock254,400 115,000 
Repayment of debt(233,000)— 
Debt and equity issuance costs(494,270)(3,952)
Preferred stock dividends(53)(75)
Shares repurchased related to share-based compensation(9,627)(3,272)
Net cash provided by financing activities2,058,109 118,201 
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash231,689 37,237 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash – beginning of period62,789 25,552 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash – end of period$294,478 $62,789 
Balance per Consolidated Balance Sheet:
December 31, 2023
Cash and cash equivalents$38,241 
Restricted cash256,237 
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash$294,478 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.

consolidated financial statements.
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NextDecade Corporation and Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements


Note 1 — Background and Basis of Presentation

NextDecade Corporation engages(“we” or the “Company”) is primarily engaged in construction and development activities related to the liquefaction of natural gas and sale of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) and the capture and storage of CO2 emissions. We are constructing and developing a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located in the Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville, Texas (the “Rio Grande LNG Facility”), which currently has three liquefaction trains and related infrastructure under construction (“Phase 1”). We have focused and continue to focus our development activitiesConstruction commenced on Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG terminal facilityFacility in July 2023, following a positive final investment decision (“FID”) and the closing of project financing by our subsidiary, Rio Grande LNG, LLC (“Rio Grande”). The Rio Grande LNG Facility has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval and Department of Energy FTA and non-FTA authorizations for the construction of up to five liquefaction trains and LNG exports totaling 27 million tonnes per annum (“MTPA”). We are also developing liquefaction trains 4 and 5 at the PortRio Grande LNG Facility, a planned carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) project at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, and other potential CCS projects that would be located at third-party industrial source facilities.
Basis of Brownsville in southern Texas (the “Terminal”). 

Presentation

Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Certain reclassifications have been made to conform prior period information to the current presentation. The reclassifications did not have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company has incurred operating losses since its inception and management expects operating losses and negative cash flows to continue until the commencement of operations at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and, as a result, the Company will require additional capital to fund its operations and execute its business plan. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $38.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, which may not be sufficient to fund the Company's planned operations and development activities for future phases of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and CCS projects through one year after the date the consolidated financial statements are issued. Accordingly, there is substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The analysis used to determine the Company's ability to continue as a going concern does not include cash sources outside of the Company's direct control that management expects to be available within the next twelve months.
The Company plans to alleviate the going concern issue by obtaining sufficient funding through additional equity, equity-based or debt instruments, or any other means, and by managing certain operating and overhead costs. The Company's ability to raise additional capital in the equity and debt markets, should the Company choose to do so, is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the market demand for the Company's equity or debt securities, which itself is subject to a number of business risks and uncertainties, as well as the uncertainty that the Company would be able to raise such additional capital at a price or on terms that are satisfactory to the Company. In the event the Company is unable to obtain sufficient additional funding, there can be no assurance that it will be able to continue as a going concern.
These consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and do not include any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that may be necessary in the event the Company can no longer continue as a going concern.
Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”)
The Company makes a determination at the inception of each arrangement whether an entity in which the Company has made an investment, sold equity in a subsidiary or in which it has other variable interests is considered a VIE. Generally, an entity is a VIE if either (1) the entity does not have sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties, (2) the entity's investors lack any characteristics of a controlling financial interest or (3) the entity was established with non-substantive voting rights.
The Company consolidates VIEs when it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is generally the party that has the power to make decisions that most significantly affect the economic performance of the VIE and has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that in either case, could be potentially significant to the VIE. If the Company is not deemed to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, the Company accounts for the investment or other variable interests in a VIE in accordance with other applicable GAAP.
53

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Non-controlling interests
When the Company consolidates an entity, 100% of the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the entity are included in the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements. For those consolidated entities in which the Company owns less than 100%, the Company records a non-controlling interest as a component of equity in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, which represent the third party ownership in the net assets of the respective consolidated subsidiary. Additionally, the portion of the net income or loss attributable to the non-controlling interest is reported as net loss attributable to non-controlling interest on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Changes in the Company's ownership interests in an entity that do not result in deconsolidation are generally recognized within equity.
Use of Estimates

The preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying notes. Management evaluates its estimates and related assumptions regularly, including those related to the value of property, plant and equipment, income taxes including valuation allowances for net deferred tax assets, share-based compensation and fair value measurements. Changes in facts and circumstances or additional information may result in revised estimates, and actual results may differ from these estimates.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject us to a concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents. We maintain cash and cash equivalent balances with a single financial institution, which may at times be in excess of federally insured levels. We have not incurred losses related to these cash and cash equivalent balances to date.

35

Table of Contents

Cash Equivalents

We consider all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

Investment Securities

We define investment securities as investments in marketable securities

Restricted Cash
Restricted cash consists of funds that can be readily convertedare contractually or legally restricted to cash. We determine the appropriate classification of investment securities at the time of purchaseusage or withdrawal and reevaluate such classification at each balance sheet date. Investment securities are initially recorded at costhave been presented separately from cash and remeasured to fair value, with changes presented in other income incash equivalents on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Balance Sheets.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Generally, we begin to capitalize the costs of our development projects once construction of the individual project is probable. This assessment includes the following criteria:

funding for design and permitting has been identified and is expected in the near-term;

key vendors for development activities have been identified, and we expect to engage them at commercially reasonable terms;

we have committed to commencing development activities;

regulatory approval is probable;

construction financing is expected to be available at the time of a final investment decision (“FID”);

prospective customers have been identified and the FID is probable; and

receipt of customary local tax incentives, as needed for project viability, is probable.

funding for design and permitting has been identified and is expected in the near-term;
key vendors for development activities have been identified, and we expect to engage them at commercially reasonable terms;
we have committed to commencing development activities;
regulatory approval is probable;
construction financing is expected to be available at the time of a FID;
prospective customers have been identified and the FID is probable; and
receipt of customary local tax incentives, as needed for project viability, is probable.
Prior to meeting the criteria above, costs associated with a project are expensed as incurred. Expenditures for normal repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred.

When assets are retired or disposed, the cost and accumulated depreciation are eliminated from the accounts and any gain or loss is reflected in our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Property, plant and equipment is carried at historical cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives.

Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of the economic life of the leasehold improvement or the term of the lease, without regard to extension/extension or renewal rights.

54

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Management tests property, plant and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances have indicated that the carrying amount of property, plant and equipment might not be recoverable. Assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets for purposes of assessing recoverability. Recoverability generally is determined by comparing the carrying value of the asset to the expected undiscounted future cash flows of the asset. If the carrying value of the asset is not recoverable, the amount of impairment loss is measured as the excess, if any, of the carrying value of the asset over its estimated fair value.

Derivative Instruments
The Company uses derivative instruments to hedge its exposure to cash flow variability from interest rate risk. Derivative instruments are recorded at fair value and included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as current or non-current assets or liabilities depending on the derivative position and the expected timing of settlement.
Leases
The Company determines if a contractual arrangement represents or contains a lease at inception. Operating leases with lease terms greater than twelve months are included in Operating lease right-of-use assets and Operating lease liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Operating lease right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of the future lease payments over the lease term. The Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate in determining the present value of the future lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is derived from information available at the lease commencement date and represents the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term and amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The right-of-use assets and lease liabilities may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. The Company has lease arrangements that include both lease and non-lease components. The Company accounts for non-lease components separately from the lease component.
Warrants

The Company determines the accounting classification of warrants that are issued, as either liability or equity, by first assessing whether the warrants meet liability classification in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”), and then in accordance with ASC 815-40,815-40, Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock (“ASC 815-40”815-40”). Under ASC 480, warrants are considered liability classified if the warrants are mandatorily redeemable, obligate the issuer to settle the warrants or the underlying shares by paying cash or other assets, or warrants that must or may require settlement by issuing a variable number of shares.

If warrants do not meet liability classification under ASC 480, the Company assesses the requirements under ASC 815-40,815-40, which states that contracts that require or may require the issuer to settle the contract for cash or a variable number of shares are liabilities recorded at fair value, irrespective of the likelihood of the transaction occurring that triggers the net cash settlement feature. If the warrants do not require liability classification under ASC 815-40,815-40, in order to conclude equity classification, the Company assesses whether the warrants are indexed to our common stock and whether the warrants are classified as equity under ASC 815-40815-40 or other applicable GAAP. After all relevant assessments are made, the Company concludes whether the warrants are classified as liability or equity. Liability classified warrants are required to be accounted for at fair value both on the date of issuance and on subsequent accounting period ending dates, with all changes in fair value after the issuance date recorded in the statements of operations as a gain or loss. Equity classified warrants are accounted for at fair value on the issuance date with no changes in fair value recognized after the issuance date.

36Debt
Our debt consists of long-term secured debt securities and credit agreements with banks and other lenders. Debt issuances are placed directly by us or through securities dealers, underwriters, or lead arrangers and are held by institutional investors, banks and other lenders.
Debt is recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets at outstanding principal value, net of unamortized debt issuance costs related to term notes and loans. Debt issuance costs consist primarily of arrangement fees, professional fees, legal fees and in certain cases, commitment fees. If debt issuance costs are incurred in connection with a line of credit arrangement or on undrawn funds, the debt issuance costs are presented as an asset on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Discounts, premiums and debt issuance costs directly related to the issuance of debt are amortized over the life of the debt and are recorded in interest expense, net of capitalized interest using the effective interest method.
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Table
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
We classify debt as current or non-current on our Consolidated Balance Sheets based on contractual maturity; however, long-term debt extinguished after the balance sheet date but before the financial statements are issued would be classified based on facts and circumstances existing as of Contentsthe balance sheet date.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Hierarchy Levels 1,2 and 3 are terms for the priority of inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. Hierarchy Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Hierarchy Level 2 inputs are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are directly or indirectly observable for the asset or liability. Hierarchy Level 3 inputs are inputs that are not observable in the market. In determining fair value, we use observable market data when available, or models that incorporate observable market data. In addition to market information, we incorporate transaction-specific details that, in management’s judgment, market participants would take into account in measuring fair value. We maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize our use of unobservable inputs in arriving at fair value estimates. Recurring fair-value measurements are performed for investment securities as disclosed in Note 4Investment Securitiesderivatives and for Common Stock Warrantcommon stock warrant liabilities as disclosed in Note 5 — Derivatives and Note 10 Preferred Stock and Common Stock Warrants,.respectively. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents and accounts payable reported on the Consolidated Balance Sheets approximates fair value due to their short-term maturities.

Treasury Stock

Treasury stock is recorded at cost. Issuance of treasury stock is accounted for on a weighted average cost basis. Differences between the cost of treasury stock and the re-issuance proceeds are charged to additional paid-in capital.

Net LossEarnings (Loss) Per Share

Net lossearnings (loss) per share (“EPS”) is computed in accordance with GAAP. Basic EPS excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS reflects potential dilution and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period increased by the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if the potential common shares had been issued and were dilutive. The dilutive effect of unvested stock and warrants is calculated using the treasury-stock method and the dilutive effect of convertible securities is calculated using the if-converted method. Basic and diluted EPS for all periods presented are the same since the effect of our potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive to our net loss per share, as disclosed in Note 11 – 13 Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders.

Share.

Share-based Compensation

We recognize share-based compensation at fair value on the date of grant. The fair value is recognized as expense (net of any capitalization) over the requisite service period. For equity-classified share-based compensation awards, compensation cost is recognized based on the grant-date fair value using the quoted market price of our common stock and not subsequently remeasured. The fair value is recognized as expense, net of any capitalization, using the straight-line basis for awards that vest based on service conditions and using the graded-vesting attribution method for awards that vest based on performance conditions. We estimate the service periods for performance awards utilizing a probability assessment based on when we expect to achieve the performance conditions. For liability classified share-based compensation awards, compensation cost is initially recognized on the grant date using estimated payout levels. Compensation cost is subsequently adjusted quarterly to reflect the updated estimated payout levels based on the changes in our stock price. We account for forfeitures as they occur.

Income Taxes

Provisions for income taxes are based on taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred taxes on temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the Consolidated Financial Statements. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are included in the Consolidated Financial Statements at currently enacted income tax rates applicable to the period in which the deferred tax assets and liabilities are expected to be realized or settled. As changes in tax laws or rates are enacted, deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted through the current period’s provision for income taxes. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying value of our net deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a portion or all of the deferred tax assets will expire before realization of the benefit or future deductibility is not probable. We recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the tax position.

56

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Segments
The Company's chief operating decision maker allocates resources and assesses financial performance on a consolidated basis. As such, for purposes of financial reporting under GAAP during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company operated as a single operating segment.
Smaller Reporting Company

Under Rule 12b-212b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the Company qualifies as a “smaller reporting company” because it had less than $100.0 million in revenue during the year ended December 31, 2023 and the value of its common stock held by non-affiliates as of the end of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter was less than $250$700.0 million. For as long as the Company remains a smaller reporting company, it may take advantage of certain exemptions from the SEC’s reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies that are not smaller reporting companies.

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Table of Contents

Note 3 — Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Prepaid subscriptions

 $29  $161 

Prepaid insurance

  314   292 

Prepaid marketing and sponsorships

  60   25 

Other

  267   381 

Total prepaid expenses and other current assets

 $670  $859 

Note 4 — Investment Securities

We previously invested in Class L shares of the JPMorgan Managed Income Fund. In March 2020, we redeemed the balance of the JPMorgan Managed Income Fund and realized a loss of $0.4 million.

Investment securities are included in Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy and consisted of the following (in thousands):

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 
  

Fair value

  

Cost

  

Fair value

  

Cost

 

JPMorgan Managed Income Fund

 $0  $0  $62,207  $6,278 

Note 5 — Sale of Equity Interests in Rio Bravo Pipeline

In March 2020 the Company LLC

On March 2, 2020, NextDecade LLC closed the transactions (the “Closing”) contemplated by that certain Omnibus Agreement, dated February 13, 2020, with Spectra Energy Transmission II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (“Buyer”), pursuant to which NextDecade LLC sold 100 percent of theits’ equity interests (the “Equity Interests”) in Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (“Rio Bravo”) to Buyera third party for consideration of approximately $19.4 million. Buyer paid $15.0 millionUnder the terms of the purchase price to NextDecade LLC atagreement, if the Closing and the remainder will be paid within five business days after the date that Rio Grande has received, after a final positive investment decision, the initial funding of financing for the development, construction and operation of the Terminal. In connection with the Closing, Rio Grande LNG Gas Supply LLC, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Rio Grande Gas Supply”), entered into (i) a Precedent Agreement for Firm Natural Gas Transportation Service for the Rio Bravo Pipeline (the “RBPL Precedent Agreement”) with Rio Bravo and (ii) a Precedent Agreement for Natural Gas Transportation Service (the “VCP Precedent Agreement”) with Valley Crossing Pipeline, LLC (“VCP”). VCP and, as of the Closing, Rio Bravo are wholly owned subsidiaries of Enbridge Inc. The Valley Crossing Pipeline is owned and operated by VCP.

Pursuant to the RBPL Precedent Agreement, Rio Bravo agreed to provide Rio Grande Gas Supply with firm natural gas transportation services on the Pipeline in a quantity sufficient to match the full operational capacity of each proposed liquefaction train of the Terminal. Rio Bravo’s obligation to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the Pipeline is conditioned on its receipt, no later than December 31, 2023, of notice that Rio Grande Gas Supply or its affiliate has issued a full notice to proceed to the engineering, procurement and construction contractor (the “EPC Contractor”) for the construction of the Terminal. Under the RBPL Precedent Agreement, in consideration for the provision of such firm transportation services, Rio Bravo will be remunerated on a dollar-per-dekatherm, take-or-pay basis, subject to certain adjustments, over a term of at least twenty years, all in compliance with the federal and state authorizations associated with the Pipeline.

Pursuant to the VCP Precedent Agreement, VCP agreed to provide Rio Grande Gas Supply with natural gas transportation services on the Valley Crossing Pipeline in a quantity sufficient to match the commissioning requirements of each proposed liquefaction train of the Terminal. VCP’s obligation to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the necessary interconnection to the Terminal and the Pipeline is conditioned on its receipt, no later than December 31, 2023, of notice that Rio Grande Gas Supply or its affiliate has issued a full notice to proceed to the EPC Contractor for the construction of the Terminal. VCP will be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the tap, riser and valve facilities (the “VCP Transporter Facilities”), which shall connect to Rio Grande Gas Supply’s custody transfer meter and such other facilities as necessary in order for the Terminal to receive gas from the VCP Transporter Facilities (the “Rio Grande Gas Supply Facilities”). Rio Grande Gas Supply will be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, to construct, install, own, operate and maintain the Rio Grande Gas Supply Facilities. Under the VCP Precedent Agreement, in consideration for the provision of the commissioning transportation services, VCP will be remunerated on the same dollar-per-dekatherm, take-or-pay basis as set forth in the RBPL Precedent Agreement for the duration of such commissioning services, all in compliance with the federal and state authorizations associated with the Valley Crossing Pipeline.

If Rio Grande or its affiliate failfailed to issue a full notice to proceed to theits’ EPC Contractor on orcontractor prior to December 31, 2023, Buyer has2024, the purchaser had the right to sell the Equity Interestsequity interests back to NextDecade LLCthe Company and NextDecade LLC hasthe Company had the right to repurchase the Equity Interestsequity interests from Buyer,Buyer.

Of the transaction price of approximately $19.4 million, $15.0 million was received by the Company in each case at a price not to exceed $23 million. Accordingly,March 2020 and the proceeds from the saleremaining approximate $4.4 million was received in July 2023 upon Rio Grande’s issuance of the Equity Interests and additional costs incurred by Buyer are presented as a non-current liability andfull notice to proceed to its’ EPC contractor. Accordingly, the assets of Rio Bravo havenot been de-recognized in the consolidated balance sheet at as of December 31, 2020.

2023.
38

Note 64 — Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consisted of the following (in thousands):

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Fixed Assets

        

Computers

 $487  $487 

Furniture, fixtures, and equipment

  464   471 

Leasehold improvements

  101   547 

Total fixed assets

  1,052   1,505 

Less: accumulated depreciation

  (660)  (793)

Total fixed assets, net

  392   712 

Terminal and Pipeline Assets (not placed in service)

        

Terminal

  140,253   121,081 

Pipeline

  21,017   12,798 

Total Terminal and Pipeline assets

  161,270   133,879 

Total property, plant and equipment, net

 $161,662  $134,591 

Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $196 thousand and $251 thousand, respectively.

December 31,
20232022
Rio Grande LNG Facility (not placed in service)$2,431,389 $197,144 
Rio Bravo pipeline (not placed in service)— 21,017 
Corporate and other7,518 1,491 
Total property, plant and equipment, at cost2,438,907 219,652 
Less: accumulated depreciation(1,174)(1,006)
Total property, plant and equipment, net$2,437,733 $218,646 

Note 75Leases

We currently lease approximately 25,600 square feet of office space for general and administrative purposes in Houston, Texas under a lease agreement that expires on September 30, 2021.

On March 6, 2019, Derivatives

In July 2023, Rio Grande entered into interest rate swaps agreements (the “Swaps”) to protect against interest rate volatility by hedging a lease agreement (the “Rio Grande Site Lease”)portion of the floating-rate interest payments associated with the Brownsville Navigation Districtcredit facilities described in Note 9 — Debt. As of Cameron County, Texas (“BND”) pursuantDecember 31, 2023, Rio Grande has the following Swaps outstanding (in thousands):
Initial Notional AmountMaximum Notional AmountMaturityWeighted Average Fixed Interest Rate PaidVariable Interest Rate Received
$123,000 $8,500,000 July 12, 20303.4 %USD - SOFR
The Swaps are not designated as cash flow hedging instruments, and changes in fair value are recorded within our Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The Company values the Swaps using an income-based approach based on observable inputs to whichthe valuation model including interest rate curves, risk adjusted discount rates, credit spreads and other relevant data. The fair value of the Swaps is approximately $48.9 million as of December 31, 2023, and is classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.
57

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 6 — Leases
The Company commenced the Rio Grande LNG Facility site lease on July 12, 2023 and it has agreed to lease approximately 984 acres of land situated in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas for the purposes of constructing, operating, and maintaining the Terminal and gas treatment and gas pipeline facilities.

Thean initial term of the Rio Grande Site Lease is for 30 years (the “Primary Term”), which will commence on the date specified in a written notice by Rio Grande to BND (the “Effective Date Notice”), if given, confirming that Rio Grande or a Rio Grande affiliate has made a positive FID for the first phase of the Terminal. Under the Rio Grande Site Lease, the Effective Date Notice was to be delivered no later than November 6, 2019 (the “Outside Effective Date”) unless Rio Grande was unable to deliver the Effective Date Notice prior to the Outside Effective Date due to reasons unrelated to its own acts or omissions or its inability to secure one or more of the required permits for the Terminal. In such a case, the Outside Effective Date would be automatically extended on a month-to-month basis (the “Effective Date Notice Extension Period”). Rio Grandeyears. The Company has the option to renew and extend the term of the Rio Grande Site Lease beyond the Primary Termlease for up to two consecutive renewal periods of ten years each, provided that Rio Grande has not caused an event of default under the Rio Grande Site Lease. 

On April 30, 2020, Rio Grande and the BND amended the Rio Grande Site Lease (the “Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment”) to extend the effective date for commencing the Rio Grande Site Lease to May 6, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). The Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment further provides that Rio Grande has the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to extend the Effective Date to May 6, 2022 by providing the BND with written notice of its election no later than the close of business on the Effective Date.

In January 2017, NextDecade LLC executed surface lease agreements with the City of Texas City and the State of Texas for a 994-acre site for a potential second U.S. LNG project (collectively, the “Galveston Bay Leases”). The term of the Galveston Bay Leases is 36 months with an option to extend for an additional 12 months.  Such option was included in the measurement of Operating lease right-of-use assets and Operating lease liabilities and was exercised in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Galveston Bay Leases were not renewed upon expiration on December 31, 2020.

In adopting Topic 842,but as the Company has elected the “packageis not reasonably certain that those options will be exercised, none are recognized as part of practical expedients,” which permits it not to reassess under the new standard its prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. The Company also elected the use-of-hindsight and the practical expedient pertaining to land easements. The Company elected not to apply Topic 842 to arrangements with original lease termsour right of 12 months or less. At lease commencement date, the Company estimated the lease liability and the right-of-use assets at present value, at inception, of $2.3 million. On January 1, 2019, upon adoption of Topic 842, the Company recorded right-of-use assets of $1.6 million, lease liabilities of $1.9 million, eliminated deferred rent of $0.1 million and recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment of $0.2 million.

The Company determines if a contractual arrangement represents or contains a lease at inception. Operating leases with lease terms greater than twelve months are included in Operating lease right-of-use assets and Operating lease liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. 

Operating lease right-of-useuse assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of the future lease payments over the lease term. The Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate in determining the present value of the future lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is derived from information available at the lease commencement date and represents the rate of interest that the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term and amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The right-of-use assets and lease liabilities may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option.liabilities. The Company has also entered into an office space lease arrangements thatwhich expires on December 31, 2035, and does not include bothany options for renewal.

For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our operating lease costs were $6.1 million and non-lease components. The Company accounts for non-lease components separately from the lease component.

$1.1 million, respectively.
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Table of Contents

Operating lease right-of-use assets are as follows (in thousands):

   December 31,   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Office leases

 $429  $610 

Land leases

  0   444 

Total operating lease right-of-use assets, net

 $429  $1,054 

Operating lease liabilities are as follows (in thousands):

   December 31,   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Office leases

 $432  $698 

Land leases

  0   0 

Total current lease liabilities

  432   698 

Non-current office leases

  0   3 

Non-current land leases

  0   0 

Total lease liabilities

 $432  $701 

Operating lease expense is as follows (in thousands):

   December 31,   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Office leases

 $829  $719 

Land leases

  446   456 

Total operating lease expense

  1,275   1,175 

Short-term lease expense

  319   321 

Land option expense

  9   543 

Total land option and lease expense

 $1,603  $2,039 

Maturity of operating lease liabilities as of December 31, 20202023 are as follows (in thousands)thousands, except lease term and discount rate):

2021

 $452 

2022

  0 

2023

  0 
2024  0 

2025

  0 

Thereafter

  0 

Total undiscounted lease payments

  452 

Discount to present value

  (20)

Present value of lease liabilities

 $432 

2024$8,029 
20257,615 
20269,522 
20279,565 
20289,609 
Thereafter199,241 
Total undiscounted lease payments243,581 
Discount to present value(94,476)
Present value of lease liabilities$149,105 
Weighted average remaining lease term - years27.9
Weighted average discount rate - percent4.0 
Other information related to our operating leases as of December 31, 2020is as follows (in thousands):

   December 31,   December 31, 
   2020   2019 

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities:

        

Cash flows from operating activities

 $1,004  $1,844 

Noncash right-of-use assets recorded for operating lease liabilities:

        

Adoption of Topic 842

  0   1,562 

In exchange for new operating lease liabilities during the period

  605   443 

Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Operating cash flows for amounts paid included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities$3,122 $678 
Noncash right-of-use assets recorded for new operating lease liabilities during the period147,727 1,640 

Note 87 — Other Non-Current Assets

Other non-current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Permitting costs(1)

 $7,385  $2,637 

Enterprise resource planning system, net

  1,805   3,165 
Rio Grande Site Lease initial direct costs  7,109   946 
Total other non-current assets, net $16,299  $6,748 

(1)

Permitting costs primarily represent costs incurred in connection with our permit applications to the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wetlands and habitat mitigation measures for potential impacts to wetlands and habitat that may be caused by the construction of the Terminal.

40Other non-current assets consisted of the following (in thousands):
December 31,
20232022
Contributions in aid of construction (1)
$7,534 $— 
Permitting costs (2)
— 8,575 
Rio Grande Site Lease initial direct costs (3)
— 19,612 
Deposits and other3,487 185 
Total other non-current assets$11,021 $28,372 
(1)Contributions in aid of construction relate to amounts paid to third parties to begin construction of utilities required for the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
(2)Permitting costs were reclassified to property, plant and equipment in July 2023 with the positive final investment decision on Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility.
(3)Rio Grande Site Lease initial direct costs were reclassified to operating lease right-of-use asset in July 2023 upon commencement of the Rio Grande site lease.
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Table of Contents
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Note 98 — Accrued Liabilities and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Employee compensation expense

 $14  $4,221 

Terminal and Pipeline asset costs

  650   2,503 

Accrued legal services

  5   1,060 

Other accrued liabilities

  363   967 

Total accrued liabilities and other current liabilities

 $1,032  $8,751 

December 31,
20232022
Rio Grande LNG Facility costs$268,821 $12,046 
Accrued interest20,392 — 
Employee compensation expense9,270 6,650 
Other accrued liabilities781 4,488 
Total accrued and other current liabilities$299,264 $23,184 

Note 9 — Debt
Debt consisted of the following (in thousands):
December 31, 2023
Senior Secured Notes and Loans:
6.67% Senior Secured Notes due 2033$700,000 
6.72% Senior Secured Loans due 2033356,000 
7.11% Senior Secured Loans due 2047251,000 
Total Senior Secured Notes and Loans1,307,000 
Credit Facilities:
CD Credit Facility484,000 
TCF Credit Facility59,000 
Total debt1,850,000 
Unamortized debt issuance costs(33,699)
Total non-current debt, net of unamortized debt issuance costs$1,816,301 
Senior Secured Notes and Loans
The 6.67% Senior Secured Notes (the “Senior Secured Notes”), 6.72% Senior Secured Loans (the “6.72% Senior Secured Loans”) and 7.11% Senior Secured Loans (the “7.11% Senior Secured Loans” and, together with the 6.72% Senior Secured Loans, the “Senior Secured Loans”) are senior secured obligations of Rio Grande, ranking senior in right of payment to any and all of Rio Grande’s future indebtedness that is subordinated to the Senior Secured Notes and the Senior Secured Loans, and equal in right of payment with Rio Grande’s other existing and future indebtedness that is senior and secured by the same collateral securing the Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans. The Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans are secured on a first-priority basis by a security interest in all of the membership interests in Rio Grande and substantially all of Rio Grande’s assets, pari passu withthe CD Credit Agreement and the loans made under the TCF Credit Facility.
Debt Maturities
Years Ending December 31,Principal Payments
2024 - 2028$— 
Thereafter1,850,000 
Total$1,850,000 
59

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Credit Facilities
Below is a summary of our committed credit facilities as of December 31, 2023 (in thousands):
CD Senior Working Capital Facility (1)
CD Credit Facility (1)
TCF Credit Facility (2)
Total facility size$500,000 $9,730,000 $800,000 
Less:   
Outstanding balance— 484,000 59,000 
Letters of credit issued47,662 — — 
Available commitment$452,338 $9,246,000 $741,000 
Priority rankingSenior securedSenior securedSenior secured
Interest rate on outstanding balanceSOFR plus margin of 2.25%SOFR plus margin of 2.25%SOFR plus margin of 2.25%
Commitment fees on undrawn balance0.68 %0.68 %0.68 %
Maturity dateJuly 12, 2030July 12, 2030July 12, 2030
(1)The obligations of Rio Grande under the CD Senior Working Capital Facility and CD Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of the assets of Rio Grande as well as a pledge of all of the membership interests in Rio Grande on a first-priority basis, pari passu with the Senior Secured Notes, the Senior Secured Loans and the loans made under the TCF Credit Facility.
(2)The obligations of Rio Grande under the TCF Credit Agreement are secured by substantially all of the assets of Rio Grande as well as a pledge of all of the membership interests in Rio Grande on a first-priority basis, pari passu with the Senior Secured Notes, the Senior Secured Loans and the loans made under the CD Credit Agreement. Total Energies Holdings SAS (“Total Holdings”) provides contingent credit support to the lenders under the TCF Credit Agreement to pay past due amounts owing from Rio Grande under the agreement upon demand.
Restrictive Debt Covenants
The CD Credit Facility and the TCF Credit Facility (collectively, the “Facilities”) include certain covenants and events of default that are supplemental to the covenants and events of default set forth in the P1 Common Terms Agreement and that are customary for project financing facilities of this type, including a requirement that interest rates for a minimum of 75% of the projected principal amount of Senior Secured Debt outstanding be hedged or have fixed interest rates. In addition, certain covenants and events of default in the Facilities are more restrictive than the corresponding covenants and events of default in the P1 Common Terms Agreement, including covenants limiting Rio Grande’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments or pay dividends (which are subject to customary conditions set out in the Facilities and certain related financing documents) or distributions on equity interests or subordinated indebtedness or purchase, redeem, or retire equity interests, sell or transfer assets, incur liens, dissolve, liquidate, consolidate, merge, sell, or lease all or substantially all of Rio Grande’s assets or enter into certain LNG sales contracts. The Facilities include a requirement for Rio Grande to maintain a historical debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.10:1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter starting from the initial principal payment date, a default of which may be cured with equity contributions.
The Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans contain customary terms and events of default and certain covenants that, among other things, limit Rio Grande’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments or pay dividends or distributions on equity interests or subordinated indebtedness or purchase, redeem, or retire equity interests, sell or transfer assets, incur liens, dissolve, liquidate, consolidate, merge, or sell or lease all or substantially all of Rio Grande’s assets. The Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans further require Rio Grande to submit certain reports and information and maintain certain LNG offtake agreements. With respect to certain events, including a change of control event and receipt of certain proceeds from asset sales, events of loss or liquidated damages, the Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans require Rio Grande to make an offer to repurchase or offer to prepay, respectively, at 101% (with respect to a change of control event) or par (with respect to each other event). The Senior Secured Notes Senior and Secured Loans covenants are subject to a number of important limitations and exceptions, including the terms and covenants contained in the P1 Common Terms Agreement.
60

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The Senior Secured Notes require Rio Grande to maintain a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.10:1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter starting from the initial principal payment date. The Senior Secured Loans require Rio Grande to maintain a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.10:1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter starting from the first quarterly payment date to occur on or after the date that is ninety days following the project completion date.
As of December 31, 2023, Rio Grande was in compliance with all covenants related to its respective debt agreements.
Debt Extinguishment
On December 28, 2023, the Company repaid $233.0 million of the outstanding principal balance of the CD Credit Facility. As a result of the repayment, the Company recognized an approximate $9.5 million loss on extinguishment for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Interest Expense
Total interest expense, net of capitalized interest, consisted of the following (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
2023
Interest cost of non-current debt
Interest per contractual rate$43,268 
Amortization of debt issuance costs41,390 
Total interest cost84,658 
Capitalized interest(34,373)
Total interest expense, net of capitalized interest$50,285 
Fair Value Disclosures
The following table shows the carrying amount and estimated fair value of our debt (in thousands):
December 31, 2023
Carrying ValueFair Value
Senior Secured Notes$700,000 $743,593 
Senior Secured Loans607,000 632,998 
The fair value of the Company's Senior Secured Notes and Senior Secured Loans was calculated based on inputs that are observable in the market or that could be derived from, or corroborated with, observable market data, including interest rates on debt issued by parties with comparable credit ratings.
The fair value of the Company’s CD Credit Facility and TCF Credit Facility approximates its' carrying amount due to its variable interest rate, which approximates a market interest rate.
Note 10 — Preferred Stock and Common Stock Warrants

Preferred Stock

In August 2018,

As of December 31, 2022, the Company sold an aggregate of 50,000had outstanding 82,948 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock), at $1,000 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $50 million and issued an additional 1,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock in aggregate as origination fees to (i) York Capital Management Global Advisors, LLC, severally on behalf of certain funds or accounts managed by it or its affiliates (“York”Stock”), (ii) Valinor Management, L.P., severally on behalf of certain funds or accounts for which it is investment manager (“Valinor”), (iii) Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP (formerly known as Halcyon Capital Management LP), severally on behalf of certain funds or accounts managed by it or its affiliates (“Bardin Hill,” and together with York and Valinor, the “Fund Purchasers”) and (iv) HGC NEXT INV LLC (“HGC” and, together with the Fund Purchasers, the “Series A Preferred Stock Purchasers”). Warrants were issued together with the shares of Series A Preferred Stock (the “Series A Warrants”). 

In connection with the issuance of Series A Preferred Stock and pursuant to backstop commitment agreements with the Fund Purchasers dated April 11, 2018, as subsequently amended on August 3, 2018 (as amended, the “Backstop Agreements”), the Company also issued a total of 413,658 shares of Company common stock as fees to the Fund Purchasers.  Each Fund Purchaser is a Company stockholder and, pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of April 17, 2017, by and among the Company, each Fund Purchaser and/or one or more of its affiliates, and the other parties named therein, three individuals, two individuals, and one individual from York, Valinor, and Bardin Hill, respectively, were appointed to the Company’s board of directors. 

In September 2018, the Company sold an aggregate of 29,05579,239 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series B Preferred Stock”) and 59,366 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock” and, together with the Series A Preferred Stock and the Series B Preferred Stock, the “Convertible Preferred Stock”), at $1,000 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $29.055 million and the Company issued an additional 581 shares of Series B Preferred Stock in aggregate as origination fees to certain funds managed by BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”).

  In May 2019, the Company sold an aggregate of 20,945 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, at $1,000 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $20.945 million and we issued an additional 418 shares of Series B Preferred Stock in aggregate as origination fees to York Tactical Energy Fund, L.P. and York Tactical Energy Fund PIV-AN, L.P. (the “York Tactical Funds” and, together with BlackRock, Bardin Hill, Valinor and HGC, the “Series B Preferred Stock Purchasers”), (ii) Bardin Hill, (iii) Valinor and (iv) HGC. Warrants were issued together with the shares of Series B Preferred Stock (the “Series B Warrants” and, together with the Series A Warrants, the “Common Stock Warrants”).

The Company has the option to convert all, but not less than all, of the Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of Company common stock at a strike price of $7.34 per share of Company common stock (the “Conversion Price”) on any date on which the volume weighted average trading price of shares of Company common stock for each trading day during any 60 of the prior 90 trading days is equal to or greater than 175% of the Conversion Price, in each case subject to certain terms and conditions. Furthermore, the Company must convert all of the Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of Company common stock at the Conversion Price on the earlier of (i) ten (10) business days following a FID Event (as defined in the certificates of designations of the Convertible Preferred Stock) and (ii) the date that is the tenth (10th) anniversary of the closings of the issuances of the Convertible Preferred Stock, as applicable.

The shares of Convertible Preferred Stock bearbore dividends at a rate of 12% per annum, which arewere cumulative and accrueaccrued daily from the daterespective dates of issuance on the $1,000 stated value.value per share. Such dividends arewere payable quarterly and may be paid in cash or in-kind. During the twelve monthsyear ended December 31, 2020 2023 and 20192022, the Company paid-in-kind $14.3$20.5 million and $11.2$24.3 million of dividends, respectively, to the holders of the Convertible Preferred Stock.
On January 12, 2021, the Company declared dividends to holders ofJuly 26, 2023, the Convertible Preferred Stock aswas converted into 59,542,066 shares of the close of business on December 15, 2020. On January 15, 2021, thecommon stock.
61

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Common Stock Warrants
The Company paid-in-kind $3.9 million of dividendsissued warrants exercisable to holders of the Convertible Preferred Stock.

The holders of Convertible Preferred Stock vote on an “as-converted” basis with the holders of thepurchase Company common stock on all matters brought before the holdersin connection with its issuances of Company common stock. In addition, the holders of Convertible Preferred Stock have separate class voting rights with respect to certain matters affecting their rights.

The Convertible Preferred Stock do not qualify as liability instruments under ASC 480, because they are not mandatorily redeemable. However, as SEC Regulation S-X, Rule 5-02-27 does not permit a probability assessment for a change of control provision, the Convertible Preferred Stock must be presented as mezzanine equity between liabilities and stockholders’ equity in our Consolidated Balance Sheets because a change of control event, could force the Company to redeem the Convertible Preferred Stock for cash or assets of the Company. At each balance sheet date, we must re-evaluate whether the Convertible Preferred Stock continue to qualify for equity classification.

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Table of Contents

Common Stock Warrants

The Series A Warrants issued to the Series A Preferred Stock, Purchasers represent the right to acquire in the aggregate a number of shares of common stock equal to approximately 71 basis points (0.71%) of all outstanding shares of Company common stock, measured on a fully-diluted basis, on the exercise date with a strike price of $0.01 per share. The Series B Warrants issued to the Series B Preferred Stock Purchasers represent the right to acquire in the aggregate a number of shares of common stock equal to approximately 71 basis points (0.71%) of all outstanding shares of Company common stock, measured on a fully diluted basis on the exercise date with a strike price of $0.01 per share.

The Common Stock Warrants have a fixed three-year term that commenced on the closings of the issuances of the associated Convertible Preferred Stock. The Common Stock Warrants may only be exercised by holders of the Common Stock Warrants at the expiration of such three-year term, except that the Company can force the exercise of the Common Stock Warrants prior to expiration of such term if the volume weighted average trading price of shares of Common Stock for each trading day during any 60 of the prior 90 trading days is equal to or greater than 175% of the of the applicable Convertibleand Series C Preferred Stock conversion price and, with respect to(collectively, the Series B Warrants, the Company simultaneously elects to force a mandatory exercise of all other warrants then outstanding and un-exercised and held by any holder of parity stock. Pursuant to ASC 815-40, the fair value of the Common“Common Stock Warrants was recorded as a non-current liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheet on the issuance dates.Warrants”). The Company revalues the Common Stock Warrants at each balance sheet date and recognized a gain of $7.9 million and a loss of $2.7 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Common Stock Warrant liabilities are included in Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

The assumptions used in the Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate the fair value of the Common Stock Warrants as of December 31, 2020are as follows:

  

December 31,

  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Stock price

 $2.09  $6.14 

Exercise price

 $0.01  $0.01 

Risk-free rate

  0.1%  1.6%

Volatility

  58.6%  27.6%

Term (years)

  0.8   1.8 

Initial Fair Value Allocation

Net proceeds in 2019 were allocated on

December 31,
20232022
Stock price$4.77 $4.94 
Exercise price$0.01 $0.01 
Risk-free rate4.7 %4.6 %
Volatility78.4 %52.5 %
Term (years)0.51.5
The following table shows a fair value basis to the Series B Warrants and on a relative fair value basis to the Series B Preferred Stock.  The allocationreconciliation of net cash proceeds from the sale of Series B Preferred Stock in 2019 is as follows (in thousands):

      

Year Ended December 31, 2019

 
          

Series B

 
      

Series B

  

Convertible

 
      

Warrants

  

Preferred

 

Gross proceeds

 $20,945         

Equity issuance costs

  0         

Net proceeds - Initial Fair Value Allocation

 $20,945  $1,936  $19,009 

Per balance sheet upon issuance

     $1,936  $19,009 

Beneficial Conversion Feature

ASC 470-20-20Debt – Debt with conversion and Other Options (“ASC 470-20”) defines a BCF as a nondetachable conversion feature that ischanges in the money at the issuance date. The Company was required by ASC 470-20 to allocate a portion of the proceeds from the Series A Preferred Stock equal to the intrinsicfair value of the BCFCommon Stock Warrants which are classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy (in thousands):

December 31,
20232022
Beginning balance$6,790 $3,963 
Increase in fair value1,879 5,747 
Exercise— (3,564)
Issuance— 644 
Ending balance$8,669 $6,790 
Note 11 — Variable Interest Entity
Intermediate Holdings and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Rio Grande, have been formed to additional paid-in capital. The intrinsic valueundertake Phase 1 of the BCFconstruction and operation of the Rio Grande LNG Facility. The Company is calculated atnot obligated to fund losses of Intermediate Holdings, however, the issuance date asCompany's capital account, which would be considered in allocating the differencenet assets of Intermediate Holdings were it to be liquidated, continues to share in losses of Intermediate Holdings. Further, Rio Grande has granted the Company decision-making rights regarding the construction of Phase 1 of the Rio Grande LNG Facility and key aspects of its operation, which may only be terminated by equity holders for cause, via agreements with NextDecade LLC. Due to the foregoing, the Company determined that it holds a variable interest in Rio Grande through Intermediate Holdings and is its primary beneficiary, and therefore consolidates Intermediate Holdings in these Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following table presents the summarized assets and liabilities (in thousands) of Intermediate Holdings, which are included in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. The assets in the table below may only be used to settle the obligations of Rio Grande. In addition, there is no recourse to us for the consolidated VIE’s liabilities. The assets and liabilities in the table below include assets and liabilities of Intermediate Holdings and its subsidiaries only and exclude intercompany balances between Intermediate Holdings and NextDecade, which are eliminated in the “accounting conversion price”Consolidated Financial Statements of NextDecade.
62

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
December 31,
20232022
Assets
Current assets
Cash$256,237 $— 
Current derivative asset17,958 — 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets108 24 
Total current assets274,303 24 
Property, plant and equipment, net2,428,583 194,289 
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net157,053 — 
Debt issuance costs, net of amortization389,695 — 
Non-current derivative assets— — 
Other non-current assets9,374 28,187 
Total assets$3,259,008 $222,500 
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Accounts payable$238,582 $108 
Accrued liabilities and other current liabilities288,779 15,457 
Current operating lease liabilities2,554 — 
Total current liabilities529,915 15,565 
Non-current operating lease liabilities131,901 — 
Non-current derivative liability66,899 — 
Non-current debt, net of unamortized debt issuance costs1,816,301 — 
Total liabilities$2,545,016 $15,565 
Note 12 — Stockholders' Equity
Common Stock Purchase Agreements
On February 3, 2023, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) for a private placement with HGC NEXT INV LLC and Ninteenth Investment Company LLC, pursuant to which the market priceCompany sold an aggregate of 5.8 million shares of the Company common stock multipliedfor aggregate proceeds of $35.0 million.
On June 13, 2023, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement for three private placements with Global LNG North America Corp., an affiliate of TotalEnergies SE pursuant to which we agreed to sell an aggregate of 17.5% of the Company's common stock outstanding by the numberclosing of third private placement. In aggregate, the Company sold approximately 44.9 million shares for aggregate proceeds of Company common stock into which the Series A Preferred Stock is convertible.approximately $219.4 million. The accounting conversion prices of $5.58 per share and $6.24 per share for the Fund Purchasers and HGC, respectively, is different than the initial conversion price of $7.50 per share. The “accounting conversion price” is derived by dividing the proceeds allocated to the Series A Preferred Stock by the number of shares of Company common stock into which the Series A Preferred Stock is convertible. We are recording the accretiondetails of the $2.5three private placements are as follows:
Approximately 8.0 million Series A Preferred Stock discount attributableshares were sold for proceeds of $40.0 million on June 14, 2023.
Approximately 22.1 million shares were sold for proceeds of $110.0 million on July 26, 2023.
Approximately 14.8 million shares were sold for proceeds of $69.4 million on September 8, 2023.
63

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to the BCF as a deemed dividend using the effective yield method over the period prior to the expected conversion date.

Consolidated Financial Statements
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Table of Contents

Note 1113 — Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders

The following table (in thousands, except for loss per share) reconciles basic and diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding:

        

Basic

  117,524   109,057 

Dilutive unvested stock, convertible preferred stock, Common Stock Warrants and IPO Warrants

  0   0 

Diluted

  117,524   109,057 
         
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders $(0.24) $(0.45)

Potentially dilutive securities that were not included in the diluted net loss per share computations because their effect would have been anti-dilutive were as follows (in thousands):

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Unvested stock (1)

  916   861 

Convertible preferred stock

  16,635   13,697 

Common Stock Warrants

  1,976   1,662 

IPO Warrants(2)

  12,082   12,082 

Total potentially dilutive common shares

  31,609   28,302 


(1)

Does not include 2.1 million shares and 3.6 million shares of unvested stock for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 because the performance conditions had not yet been satisfied as of  December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(2)

The IPO Warrants were issued in connection with our initial public offering and are exercisable at a price of $11.50 per share and expire July 24, 2022. The Company may redeem the Warrants at a price of $0.01 per IPO Warrant upon 30 days’ notice only if the last sale price of our common stock is at least $17.50 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period. If the Company redeems the IPO Warrants in this manner, the Company will have the option to do so on a cashless basis with the issuance of an economically equivalent number of shares of Company common stock.

43
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Unvested stock and stock units (1)
4,8421,904
Convertible preferred stock46,533
Common Stock Warrants1,5481,382
Total potentially dilutive common shares6,39049,819

Table____________________________
(1)Includes the impact of Contentsunvested shares containing performance conditions to the extent that the underlying performance conditions are satisfied based on actual results as of the respective dates.

Note 1214 — Share-based Compensation

We have granted shares of Company common stock, restricted Company common stock and restricted stock units to employees, consultants and non-employee directors under our 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”) and in connection with the special meeting of stockholders on July 24, 2017.

Plan.

Total share-based compensation consisted of the following (in thousands):

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Share-based compensation:

        

Equity awards

 $(155) $(8,525)

Liability awards

  0   0 

Total share-based compensation

  (155)  (8,525)

Capitalized share-based compensation

  (186)  (1,121)

Total share-based compensation expense

 $(341) $(9,646)

On January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (“ASU 2018-07”). This standard simplifies aspects of share-based compensation issued to non-employees by making the guidance consistent with accounting for employee share-based compensation. Upon adoption of this standard, we reclassified $2.1 million from Share-based compensation liability to Additional paid-in-capital in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Certain employee contracts provided for cash bonuses upon a positive FID in the Terminal (the “FID Bonus”). In January 2018, the Compensation Committee (formerly the Nominating, Corporate Governance and Compensation Committee) of the board of directors approved, and certain employees party to such contracts accepted, an amendment to such contracts whereby the FID Bonuses would be settled in shares of Company common stock equal to 110% of the FID Bonus. The associated liability for FID Bonuses to be settled in shares of Company common stock of $0.2 million is included in share-based compensation liability in our Consolidated Balance Sheets at each of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Share-based compensation expense:
Equity awards$26,039 $7,472 
Liability awards514 — 
Total share-based compensation expense26,553 7,472 

The total unrecognized compensation costs at December 31, 20202023 relating to equity-classified awards were $3.1$52.5 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.01.8 years.

Restricted Stock Awards
Restricted stock awards are awards of Company common stock that are subject to restrictions on transfer and to a risk of forfeiture if the recipient’s employment with the Company is terminated prior to the lapse of the restrictions. Restricted stock awards vest based on service conditions and/or performance conditions. The amortization of the value of restricted stock grants is accounted for as a charge to compensation expense, or capitalized, depending on the nature of the services provided by the employee, with a corresponding increase to additional-paid-in-capital over the requisite service period.

Grants of restricted stock to employees, non-employees and non-employee directors that vest based on service and/or performance conditions are measured at the closing quoted market price of our common stock on the grant date.

The table below provides a summary of our restricted stock awards outstanding as of December 31, 20202023 and changes during the year ended December 31, 20202023 (in thousands, except for per share information):

  

Shares

  

Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share

 

Non-vested at January 1, 2020

  4,772  $7.95 

Granted

  225   3.02 

Vested

  (612)  5.38 

Forfeited

  (874)  8.08 

Non-vested at December 31, 2020

  3,511  $8.05 

44
SharesWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Non-vested at January 1, 20231,083$7.51 
Granted1075.99 
Vested(1,161)8.55 
Forfeited(16)6.39 
Non-vested at December 31, 202313$2.24 
64

Table
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Restricted Stock Units and Performance Stock Units
Restricted stock units are stock awards that vest over a service period of Contentsone, two, or three years and entitle the holder to receive shares of our common stock upon vesting, subject to restrictions on transfer and to a risk of forfeiture if the recipient terminates employment with us prior to the lapse of the restrictions. Certain performance stock units provide for cliff vesting after a period of three years with payouts based upon market conditions achieved over the defined performance period compared to pre-established performance targets. The settlement amounts of the awards are based on market conditions consisting of total shareholder return (“TSR”) and relative total shareholder return (“RTSR”) of our common stock.
Where applicable, the compensation for performance stock units containing market conditions of TSR and RTSR are based on a fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation as of the grant date, which utilizes level 3 inputs such as projected stock volatility and projected risk-free rates and remains constant through the vesting period. The number of shares that may be earned at the end of the vesting period ranges from 0% up to 100% of the target award amount. Both restricted stock units and performance stock units will be settled in Company common stock (on a one-for-one basis) and are classified as equity awards.

The table below provides a summary of our restricted stock units outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and changes during the year ended December 31, 2023 (in thousands, except for per share information):
SharesWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Non-vested at January 1, 202310,3044.82 
Granted5,6805.72 
Vested(2,782)7.82 
Forfeited(403)5.06 
Non-vested at December 31, 202312,799$4.72 
Note 1315 — Income Taxes

The reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective income tax rate is as follows:

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

U.S. federal statutory rate, beginning of year

  21%  21%

Officers' compensation

  2   7 

Other

  (3)  (2)

Valuation allowance

  (20)  (26)

Effective tax rate as reported

  0%  0%

Year Ended December 31,
20232022
U.S. federal statutory rate, beginning of year21 %21 %
Non-controlling interest(6)— 
Officers' compensation(2)(1)
Other— (1)
Valuation allowance(13)(19)
Effective tax rate as reported— %— %— %
65

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2020 2023 and 20192022 are as follows (in thousands):

  

Year Ended

 
  

December 31,

 
  

2020

  

2019

 

Deferred tax assets

        

Net operating loss carryforwards and credits

 $20,698  $15,064 

Share-based compensation expense

  3,813   3,441 

Property, plant and equipment

  725   1,025 
Common stock warrant liabilities  0   524 
Operating lease liabilities  91   147 

Other

  54   21 

Less: valuation allowance

  (22,669)  (19,802)

Total deferred tax assets

  2,712   420 
         

Deferred tax liabilities

        
Common stock warrant liabilities  (1,129)  0 
Operating lease Right-of-use assets  (1,583)  (420)

Total deferred tax liabilities

  (2,712)  (420)
         

Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)

 $0  $0 

December 31,
20232022
Deferred tax assets
Net operating loss carryforwards and credits$54,839 $36,835 
Investment in Intermediate Holdings31,782 — 
Property, plant and equipment— 749 
Operating lease liabilities2,972 187 
Other4,996 3,179 
Less: valuation allowance(91,465)(36,642)
Total deferred tax assets3,124 4,308 
Deferred tax liabilities
Operating lease right-of-use assets(2,809)(4,308)
Other(315)— 
Total deferred tax liabilities(3,124)(4,308)
Net deferred tax assets (liabilities)$— $— 
The federal deferred tax assets presented above do not include the state tax benefits as our net deferred state tax assets are offset with a full valuation allowance.

At December 31, 2020,2023, we had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of approximately $98.6$260.7 million. Approximately $26.1 million of these NOL carryforwards will expire between 2034 and 2038.

Due to our history of NOLs, current year NOLs and significant risk factors related to our ability to generate taxable income, we have established a valuation allowance to offset our deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2020 2023 and 2019.2022. We will continue to evaluate our ability to release the valuation allowance in the future. Due to our full valuation allowance, we have not recorded a provision for federal or state income taxes during the years ended December 31, 20202023 or 2019.2022.  Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are classified as non-current in our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (as amended) contains provisions that limit the utilization of NOL and tax credit carryforwards if there has been a change in ownership as described in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 382”).  Substantial changes in the Company's ownership have occurred that may limit or reduce the amount of NOL carryforwards that the Company could utilize in the future to offset taxable income. The Company has not completed a detailed Section 382 study at this time to determine what impact, if any, that ownership changes may have had on its NOL carryforwards.  In each period since its inception, the Company has recorded a valuation allowance for the full amount of its deferred tax assets, as the realization of the deferred tax asset is uncertain. As a result, the Company has not recognized any federal or state income tax benefit in its Consolidated Statement of Operations.

We remain subject to periodic audits and reviews by taxing authorities; however, we did not have any open income tax audits as of December 31, 2020. 2023. The federal tax returns for the years beginning 20152019 remain open for examination.

In response to the global pandemic related to COVID-19, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) on December 27, 2020.  The CARES Act and the CAA provide numerous relief provisions for corporate taxpayers, including modification of the utilization limitations on NOLs, favorable expansions of the deduction for business interest expense under Internal Revenue Code Section 163(j), and the ability to accelerate timing of refundable alternative minimum tax credits.  For the year ended December 31, 2020, there were no material tax impacts to our consolidated financial statements from the CARES Act, the CAA or other COVID-19 measures.  The Company continues to monitor additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service and others.

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Table of Contents

Note 1416 — Commitments and Contingencies

Other Commitments

On March 6, 2019, Rio Grande entered into a lease agreement (the “Rio Grande Site Lease”) with the Brownsville Navigation District of Cameron County, Texas (“BND”) for the lease by Rio Grande of approximately 984 acres of land situated in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas for the purposes of constructing, operating, and maintaining (i) a liquefied natural gas facility and export terminal and (ii) gas treatment and gas pipeline facilities. On April 30, 2020, Rio Grande and the BND amended the Rio Grande Site Lease (the “Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment”) to extend the effective date for commencing the Rio Grande Site Lease to May 6, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). The Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment further provides that Rio Grande has the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to extend the Effective Date to May 6, 2022 by providing the BND with written notice of its election no later than the close of business on the Effective Date.

In connection with the Rio Grande Site Lease Amendment, Rio Grande is committed to pay approximately $1.5 million per quarter to the BND through the earlier of the Effective Date and lease commencement.

Obligation under LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

In March 2019, we entered into a 20-year sale and purchase agreement (the “SPA”) with Shell NA LNG LLC (“Shell”) for the supply of approximately two million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the Terminal. Pursuant to the SPA, Shell will purchase LNG on a free-on-board (“FOB”) basis starting from the date the first liquefaction train of the Terminal that is commercially operable, with approximately three-quarters of the purchased LNG volume indexed to Brent and the remaining volume indexed to domestic United States gas indices, including Henry Hub.

In the first quarter of 2020, pursuant to the terms of the SPA, the SPA became effective upon the conditions precedent in the SPA being satisfied or waived. The SPA obligates Rio Grande to deliver the contracted volumes of LNG to Shell at the FOB delivery point, subject to the first liquefaction train at the Terminal being commercially operable.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time the Company may be subject to various claims and legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of business. We regularly analyze current information and, as necessary, provide accruals for liabilities we deem probable and estimable.

As of December 31, 2020,2023, management was is not aware of any claims or legal actions that, separately or in the aggregate, are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows, although the Company cannot guarantee that a material adverse eventeffect will not occur.

66


NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1517Recent Accounting Pronouncements 

Supplemental Cash Flows

The following table provides a brief descriptionsupplemental disclosure of recent accounting standards that have not been adopted by the Company during the reporting period:

Standard

Description

Date of Adoption

Effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements or Other Significant Matters

ASU 2020-06,Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in Entity's Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)

This standard requires entities to provide expanded disclosures about the terms and features of convertible instruments. For convertible instruments, the instruments primarily affected are those issued with beneficial conversion features or cash conversion features because the accounting models for those specific features are removed.

January 1, 2022

We are currently evaluating the effect of this standard on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

cash flow information (in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Cash paid for interest, net of amounts capitalized$23,365 $— 
Non-cash investing activities:  
Accounts payable for acquisition of property, plant and equipment$238,105 $162 
Accrued liabilities for acquisition of property, plant and equipment268,821 12,046 
Accrued liabilities for acquisition of other non-current assets— 279 
Non-cash financing activities:  
Paid-in-kind dividends on Convertible Preferred Stock$20,431 $24,207 
Accrued liabilities for debt and equity issuance costs764 — 
Note 1618 — Subsequent Events

NextDecade LLC Revolver
On March 17, 2021, the CompanyJanuary 4, 2024, NextDecade LLC entered into a Series C Convertible Preferred Stock PurchaseCredit and Guaranty Agreement (collectively,by and among NextDecade LLC, as borrower, Rio Grande LNG Super Holdings, LLC and Rio Grande LNG Intermediate Super Holdings, LLC, as subsidiary guarantors, MUFG Bank, Ltd., as the “Series C Stock Purchase Agreements”) with each of (i) York Capital Management, L.P. and certain of its affiliates (“York”administrative agent (the “Administrative Agent”), (ii)Wilmington Trust, National Association, as the collateral agent (the “Collateral Agent”), MUFG Bank, Ltd., as coordinating lead arranger and bookrunner and the financial institutions party thereto as lenders. The Credit and Guarantee Agreement provides for the following facilities:
a revolving loan facility (the “Revolving Loans”) in an amount up to $50 million available to NextDecade LLC to be used for (a) general corporate purposes and working capital requirements of NextDecade LLC and its subsidiaries, including development costs related to the fourth liquefaction train and related common facilities at the Rio Grande LNG Facility, and (b) certain affiliatespermitted payments on behalf of Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP (“Bardin Hill”),the Company and (iii) Avenue Energy Opportunities Fund II, L.P (“Avenue”its subsidiaries; and
an interest loan facility (the “Interest Loans” and together with Yorkthe Revolving Loans, the “Loans”) in an amount up to $12.5 million available to NextDecade LLC to pay interest obligations, fees, and Bardin Hill,expenses due and payable under the “Purchasers”Credit Agreement and the other finance documents.
The principal amount of the Loans must be repaid on the maturity date, which is the earlier of (a) the second anniversary of the Closing Date or such later anniversary of the Closing Date as may be determined by a unanimous decision of the lenders following a written request from NextDecade LLC and (b) ten business days after the date a final investment decision is taken by the board of directors of the Company in respect of the development of the fourth liquefaction train and related common facilities at the Rio Grande LNG Facility. NextDecade LLC may extend the maturity to the date that is ninety days after the date in clause (b) if it delivers written notice to the lenders specifying in reasonable detail its expected source of liquidity to repay all outstanding obligations under the Credit Agreement and the other finance documents on the last day of the requested ninety-day extension. NextDecade LLC may make borrowings based on SOFR plus the applicable margin (4.50%) or the base rate plus the applicable margin (3.50%). NextDecade LLC will pay commitment fees on the undrawn amount of the loan commitments.
Additional Rio Grande Senior Notes
On February 9, 2024, Rio Grande issued and sold $190 million aggregate principal amount of 6.85% Senior Secured Notes due 2047 (the “6.85% Senior Notes”) pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell,an indenture between Rio Grande and the Purchasers agreed to purchase sharesWilmington Trust, National Association, as Trustee (the “Indenture”).
The issuance and sale of the Company’s Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.00016.85% resulted in a reduction in the commitments under Rio Grande's existing term loan facilities for Phase 1 from approximately $10.5 billion to approximately $10.3 billion.
The 6.85% Senior Notes will be amortized over a period of approximately 18 years beginning in mid-2029, with a final maturity in June 2047, and will accrue interest from February 9, 2024 at a rate equal to 6.85% per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), togetherannum on the outstanding principal amount, with associated warrants, for an aggregate purchase pricesuch interest payable semi-annually, in cash in arrears, on June 30 and December 30 of $24.5 million.  The consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Series C Stock Purchase Agreements occurred at multiple closingseach year, beginning on or prior to March 22, 2021.

We have evaluated subsequent events through March 25, 2021, the date the financial statements were issued.  Any material subsequent events that occurred during this time have been properly recognized and/or disclosed in these financial statements.

June 30, 2024.
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Table of Contents

NextDecade Corporation and Subsidiaries

Supplemental Information

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Summarized Quarterly Financial Data

(unaudited)

Summarized Quarterly Financial Data – (in thousands, except per share amounts)

  

First

  

Second

  

Third

  

Fourth

 
  

Quarter

  

Quarter

  

Quarter

  

Quarter

 

Year ended December 31, 2020:

                

Revenues

 $  $  $  $ 

Total operating loss

  (7,241)  (5,211)  (5,557)  (4,003)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

  (2,617)  (9,304)  (10,807)  (6,056)

Basic and diluted loss per share (1)

  (0.02)  (0.08)  (0.09)  (0.05)
                 

Year ended December 31, 2019:

                

Revenues

 $  $  $  $ 

Total operating loss

  (12,488)  (5,582)  (4,412)  (12,519)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

  (17,566)  (7,207)  (6,362)  (17,417)

Basic and diluted loss per share (1)

  (0.16)  (0.07)  (0.06)  (0.16)


(1)

The sum of the quarterly basic and diluted loss per share may not equal the full year amount as the computation of the weighted average common shares outstanding for basic and diluted shares outstanding for each quarter and the full year are performed independently.

47

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of “our disclosure controls and procedures,” as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.2023. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that, as of December 31, 2020,2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

As management, we are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we have conducted an assessment, including testing using the criteria in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). The Company’s system of internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements and, even when determined to be effective, can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

Based on our assessment, we have concluded that the Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020,2023, based on criteria in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

The Company is neither an accelerated filer nor a large accelerated filer, as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act and, therefore, this Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an audit report on internal control over financial reporting by the Company’s registered public accounting firm. Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 20202023 was not required to be attested by the Company’s registered public accounting firm pursuant to Item 308(b) of Regulation S-K.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

During the most recent fiscal quarter, there were no changes in internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B.Other Information

Securities Trading Plans of Directors and Executive Officers
During the three months ended December 31, 2023, none of our directors or executive officers adopted or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of our securities that was intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.”
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
None.

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Table of Contents
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Part III

Pursuant to paragraph 3 of General Instruction G to Form 10-K, the

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information required by Items 10 through 14 of Part III of this ReportItem is incorporated by reference from NextDecade’sto the applicable information in NextDecade's definitive proxy statement, which is to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act within 120 days after the end of NextDecade’sNextDecade's fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

2023.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the applicable information in NextDecade's definitive proxy statement, which is to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act within 120 days after the end of NextDecade's fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the applicable information in NextDecade's definitive proxy statement, which is to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act within 120 days after the end of NextDecade's fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the applicable information in NextDecade's definitive proxy statement, which is to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act within 120 days after the end of NextDecade's fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the applicable information in NextDecade's definitive proxy statement, which is to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act within 120 days after the end of NextDecade's fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
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Table of Contents
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Part IV

Item 15.Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules

(a)Financial Statements, Schedules and Exhibits
(1)Financial Statements – NextDecade Corporation and Subsidiaries:

(a)

Financial Statements, Schedules and Exhibits

Page

(1)

Financial Statements – NextDecade Corporation and Subsidiaries:

Supplemental Information to Consolidated Financial Statements – Summarized Quarterly Financial Data

47

(2)

Financial Statement Schedules:

(2)Financial Statement Schedules:
All schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the financial statements or the notes thereto.

(3)Exhibits:

(3)

Exhibits:

Exhibit No.

Description

3.1(1)

3.2(2)

3.3(3)

3.4(4)

3.5(5)
3.6(6)
3.7(7)
3.8(8)
3.9(9)
3.10(10)

4.1(11)

4.2(12)

70

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

4.3(13)

4.4(14)

4.5(15)

4.6(16)
4.7(17)

50

10.1(18)

10.2(19)

10.3(20)

10.4(21)

10.5(22)

10.6(23)

10.7(24)

10.8(25)

10.9(26)

10.10(27)

10.11(28)

10.12(29)+
10.13(30)+
10.14(31)Series B Convertible Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 17, 2019, entered into by and between NextDecade Corporation and the Valinor Funds
10.15(32)Series B Convertible Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 17, 2019, entered into by and between NextDecade Corporation and the Bardin Hill Funds
10.16(33)Series B Convertible Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 17, 2019, entered into by and between NextDecade Corporation and HGC NEXT INV LLC
10.17(34)Form of Registration Rights Agreement
10.18(35)Form of Purchaser Rights Agreement
10.19(36)+Fixed Price Turnkey Agreement for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction of Trains 1 and 2 of the Rio Grande Natural Gas Liquefaction Facility by and between Rio Grande LNG, LLC as Owner and Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals, Inc. as Contractor, dated as of May 24, 2019 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019)
10.20(37)
10.14+
71

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
10.21(38)
10.15
10.22(39)+10.16Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated October 24, 2019, by and between NextDecade Corporation and Ninteenth Investment Company
10.23(40)
10.24(41)10.17
10.25(42)
10.18*
10.26(43)

Restated Director Compensation Policy

10.27(44)
10.19+
10.28(45)
10.20+
10.29(46)
10.21+
10.30(47)10.22
10.31(48)+10.23
10.24+
10.32(49)
10.25+
10.33(50)10.26
10.34(51)10.27
10.35*
10.28
10.29
72

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
10.36*10.30
10.37(52)10.31
10.32
10.33
10.34
10.35
10.38(53)10.36
10.37
10.38
10.39
10.40
10.41
10.42
10.43
10.44
10.45*

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Table of Contents
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

21.1*

10.46
10.47*

10.48
10.49*
10.50*
10.51
10.52
10.53
10.54
10.55
10.56*
10.57*
10.58*
21.1*
74

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

23.1*

31.1*

31.2*

32.1**

32.2**

101.INS

97.1*

101.INSInline XBRL Instance Document (the Instance Document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

101.SCH*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

101.CAL*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

101.LAB*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

101.DEF*

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).


(1)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 28, 2017.

(2)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 28, 2017.

(3)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-3, filed December 20, 2018.

(4)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed November 9, 2018.

(5)*Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's Form 8-K, filed March 18, 2021.Filed herewith.
(6)**Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 15, 2019.Furnished herewith
(7)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed July 15, 2019.
(8)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.7 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019.
(9)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.8 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019.

(10)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed March 4, 2021.
(11)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Company's Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.

(12)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Amendment No. 7 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed March 13, 2015.

(13)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 of the Amendment No. 7 to the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed March 13, 2015.

(14)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 7, 2018.

(15)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 24, 2018

(16)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Company's Form 8-K, filed March 18, 2021.
(17)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.6 of the Company's Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.

(18)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed September 11, 2017.

(19)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed December 15, 2017.

(20)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed December 20, 2017.

(21)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed August 7, 2018.

(22)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed August 7, 2018.

(23)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed August 24, 2018.

(24)

Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed August 24, 2018.

(25)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 6, 2019.
(26)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.29 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 6, 2019.
(27)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 6, 2019.
(28)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.31 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 6, 2019.
(29)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 7, 2019.
(30)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(31)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(32)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(33)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(34)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(35)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the Company’s Form 8-K, filed May 20, 2019.
(36)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019.
(37)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2019.
(38)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed November  5, 2019.
(39)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.
(40)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.23 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.
(41)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.
(42)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.
(43)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed March 3, 2020.
(44)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 18, 2020.
(45)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 18, 2020
(46)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed May 18, 2020.
(47)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed May 4, 2020.
(48)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2020.
(49)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed August 6, 2020.
(50)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed November 4, 2020.
(51)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed November 4, 2020.
(52)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company's Form 8-K, filed March 18, 2021.
(53)Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company's Form 8-K, filed March 18, 2021.
*Filed herewith.
**Furnished herewith.
Indicates management contract orof compensatory plan.
+Certain portions of this exhibit have been omitted.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

None.

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Table of Contents
NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

NextDecade Corporation

(Registrant)

By:

By:

/s/ Matthew K. Schatzman

Matthew K. Schatzman

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

Date:

Date:

March 25, 2021

11, 2024

76

NextDecade Corporation
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

Title

Date

/s/ Matthew K. Schatzman

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

March 25, 202111, 2024

Matthew K. Schatzman

(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Brent E. Wahl

Chief Financial Officer

March 25, 202111, 2024

Brent E. Wahl

(Principal Financial Officer)

/s/ Eric Garcia

Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

March 25, 202111, 2024

Eric Garcia

(Principal Accounting Officer)

/s/ Giovanni OddoDirectorMarch 11, 2024
Giovanni Oddo
/s/ Brian BelkeDirector

Director

March 25, 202111, 2024
Brian Belke

/s/ Frank Chapman

Director

Director

March 25, 202111, 2024
Frank Chapman
/s/ Taewon JunDirectorMarch 25, 2021
Taewon Jun

/s/ Avinash Kripalani

Director

Director

March 25, 202111, 2024

Avinash Kripalani

/s/ Thibaud de PrévalDirectorMarch 11, 2024
Thibaud de Préval
/s/ Edward Andrew Scoggins, Jr.DirectorMarch 11, 2024

/s/ Khalifa Abdulla Al Romaithi

Edward Andrew Scoggins, Jr.

Director

March 25, 2021
Khalifa Abdulla Al Romaithi

/s/ Thanasi Skafidas

Director

March 25, 2021

Thanasi Skafidas

/s/ William Vrattos

Director

Director

March 25, 202111, 2024

William Vrattos

/s/ Spencer Wells

Director

Director

March 25, 202111, 2024

Spencer Wells

/s/ Tim WyattDirectorMarch 11, 2024
Tim Wyatt

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