Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to Proceed with Largest Project in its 133-Year History

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) has received a Notice to Proceed for improvements to the Brownsville ship channel to enhance navigation for NextDecade Corporation’s giant Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas.

Great Lakes won a competitive bid for the improvements in 2020, marking the largest contract award in the dredging company’s 133-year history.

The project entails deepening the 17-mile-long Brownsville ship channel from 42 to 52 feet, developing two ship berths, and enhancing commercial navigation into and out of the Port of Brownsville so LNG carriers can safely access the Rio Grande facility.

The notice comes after Houston-based NextDecade Corporation made a $18 billion final investment decision to construct the first three liquefaction trains at the Rio Grande LNG terminal—the largest proposed liquefied natural gas export facility in the U.S.

At full capacity, Rio Grande LNG will produce 27 million metric tonnes of LNG for export. It also includes a large carbon capture and storage component that will aim to capture and permanently store over 5 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year, reducing carbon emissions by over 90%.

Great Lakes is expected to begin the project later this year.

“This exciting milestone project is the largest undertaken by Great Lakes in its 133-year history,” said Lasse Petterson, Great Lakes’ President and CEO. “We look forward to working with NextDecade and other stakeholders, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Brownsville, on this important improvement project that will benefit the navigation interests and allows for future development of the Port of Brownsville. Our proven performance and safety culture allows us to support the growth of LNG export in the U.S., which is a necessity in balancing affordability for energy and overall sustainability.”

Unlock Exclusive Insights Today!

Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.

Sign Up