Rene Rodriguez’s students are huddled around representatives of Rio Grande LNG, a bit wide-eyed and asking plenty of questions.

Rodriguez is an instructor with the building construction technology program at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen. Rio Grande LNG representatives had just concluded a presentation on campus regarding their facility, which is currently under construction at the Port of Brownsville. The first phase of the $18 billion-plus liquefied natural gas plant will be completed in 2027.

Its construction is being overseen by Bechtel Energy, the firm contracted to build the Brownsville LNG plant.  Welders, electricians, plumbers and pipefitters will be among those needed to get the plant built on a nearly 1,000-acre site within view from state Highway 48. Thus far, 800 workers have been hired by Bechtel, with 70 percent of those onsite being from the Rio Grande Valley. It’s anticipated that up to 5,000 construction-related jobs will ultimately be created before the first phase of the LNG plant is completed in three years.

When fully operational, the LNG plant will have at least 400 permanent workers to produce a product that will be shipped to European and Asian markets by ship from the Port of Brownsville. Rodriguez’s students at TSTC are interested in the Bechtel jobs currently offered and the ones up ahead in the development of Rio Grande LNG. Couple those jobs with the ones being provided by SpaceX on Boca Chica Beach, and Rodriguez said the TSTC students are seeing a whole new field of possibilities.

“There’s lots of opportunities coming up,” Rodriguez said of the new industrial jobs being offered locally by SpaceX and NextDecade, the parent company of Rio Grande LNG. “I tell my students you’ve got to start somewhere and you have to be willing to work your way up. These new companies are opening up a lot of opportunities here.”

‘Here For Long-Term’

Rio Grande LNG representatives have been busy with community presentations since construction of the plant began in the summer of 2023.

The recent presentation at TSTC was not only for the benefit of college-age students. A much younger set of pupils from Idea Public Schools were also on the Harlingen campus. Visuals included PowerPoint slides highlighting the safety precautions taken at LNG plants and on ships transporting product. Student volunteers assisted an LNG expert in quick chemistry lab-like demonstrations explaining the basics of liquefied natural gas creation.

The presentations are meant to demystify the LNG process and to introduce the Houston-based NextDecade to Valley communities as it builds its sprawling facility at the Port of Brownsville. Environmental organizations staunchly opposed the construction of Rio Grande LNG at the port and continue to voice their objections even as the project moves forward. NextDecade met all of the federal regulatory requirements in a years-long approval process. The company continues to tout the safety of liquefied natural production as it builds ties to Valley communities.

“We’re here for the long-term,” said Susan Richardson, the senior director of corporate communications for NextDecade. “We view ourselves as being a partner with the Rio Grande Valley.”

Connecting With Students

Richardson reported that the Rio Grande LNG construction site had recently completed its first concrete pour in laying down the foundation for the plant to come.

Construction is thus far on schedule and in some areas ahead of projections, Richardson said. Visiting colleges and universities is an important element of building relationships with Valley communities, she said.

“We’re here to talk to the generation that’s here and looking for work today along with the younger generation that will work for us in the future,” Richardson said at the TSTC event. “By exposing them to what LNG is about and hearing about the opportunities, we find that’s a really great way for them to understand the possibilities.”

For the students of TSTC instructor Rodriguez the possibilities sought are in the here and now. He cited a recent graduate hired by SpaceX at its Starbase at Boca Chica. The student started as part of a construction crew and worked his way up to a manager’s position. 

“That’s what I tell my students,” Rodriguez said. “Don’t expect because you have a degree that they’re going to put you up there. What we’re seeing and hearing today with this presentation is that the opportunities are there. Get started and work your way up.”