Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas producer

NextDecade ( NEXT ) said on Thursday it had reached a positive

final investment decision (FID) on the fifth liquefaction plant,

known as a train, of its Rio Grande export project in Texas.

Train 5 has the expected LNG production capacity of

about 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), bringing the total

expected LNG production capacity under construction to about 30

MTPA at Rio Grande LNG, the company said.

The announcement marks the fifth positive FID for an LNG

development project in the U.S. - the world's largest exporter

of the superchilled fuel.

LNG developers typically reach an FID on projects once

they have secured enough supply deals to obtain the necessary

financing for construction.