March 11 (Reuters) - NextDecade ( NEXT ) said on Monday

it was targeting a final investment decision (FID) and plans to

start construction of the fourth liquefaction train at its Rio

Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas by the

second half of 2024.

The Rio Grande LNG export plant has been in development for

several years, suffering repeated delays. Last year the company

made a FID to construct the first three liquefaction trains at

the facility.

NextDecade ( NEXT ) expects to finalize commercial arrangements for

Train 4 in the coming months to support the FID. It plans to

build the fifth liquefaction train after the Train 4 FID.

The company said if TotalEnergies exercises its

LNG purchase options, NextDecade ( NEXT ) estimates an additional three

million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG must be contracted on a

long-term basis for Train 4 and 5 each, before making a positive

FID.

The French energy firm currently has LNG purchase options of

1.5 MTPA for Train 4 and 5 each.