Prestidge: Texas LNG will have a massive, positive, impact on Cameron County

Morning, judge, commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this morning. And to those in attendance, thank you for being here. My name is Adam Prestidge and I lead business affairs as executive vice president of Texas LNG.

At Texas LNG we understand how much you care about your community and I’m here to let you know first and foremost that we are committed to being strong partners and community members with you, financially, socially and environmentally.

I have a few slides that I’m going to walk through to explain who we are what we’re doing with Texas LNG and why Texas LNG is important for this community.

But first I want to make clear, Texas LNG will have a massive, positive, impact. Several billion dollars in direct investment to build the facility; over 1,500 new high paying construction jobs. Over 100 permanent operating jobs. Thousands of additional indirect jobs created and billions of dollars in additional revenue and income to local businesses, schools, hospitals, banks and other businesses.

And all of this is going to be done with the most environmentally sensitive, lowest emitting LNG project in the entire country. That’s what we’re committing to you to do. But we need your help. Creating an LNG project is very difficult, and every bit of support helps, especially the support of the county.

Adam Prestidge

Now, who are we? Texas LNG is an energy infrastructure project being developed by Glenfarne Energy Transition. Glenfarne is a company committed to providing clean energy around the world. We’re not a major oil and gas corporation. We’re employee owned. We built the company ourselves. We’ve grown in a short period of time by delivering clean, sustainable energy. That’s solar, that’s wind, that’s hydro. It’s natural gas. In growing markets and emerging economies that need it most. Texas LNG follows that commitment.

It will produce four million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. That’s a lot of gas, but it’s still very small compared to most LNG projects. That means less emissions, less marine traffic and less overall impact.

Texas LNG also has all of its permits, which means that it has been closely scrutinized and regulated by many government institutions at the U.S. federal government level and the Texas state level. These agencies have strict requirements and we have met or exceeded each one and will continue to live by those commitments for the life of the project.

In everything that we do, we’re focused on doing business in an honest and transparent way that makes a positive impact. We care about our communities. We are obsessed with helping the world transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy that is suitable for the environment. We do everything that we can to minimize emissions. And lastly, we partner with governments at every level to make sure that our goals are aligned. That’s how we do business the right way. And so, there’s a little bit going on in this slide. But that’s because it takes a lot to get natural gas produced out of the ground and delivered into global markets. But the point here that I want to make on this slide is that at every step of this process, we’re taking every effort to make sure that the things that we do are done in the most environmentally sensitive way.

Let’s be clear, Texas, LNG will not require new fracking. Instead, we tap into existing oil wells and collect associated gas that would otherwise be vented or flared into the atmosphere. The pipeline that will deliver gas to our facility is electric powered, just like Texas LNG. And we will draw electric power from solar and wind facilities here in the Rio Grande Valley.

Throughout the life of the project, we’ll have emissions experts certifying our clean operations. And finally, the ships that take our LNG around the world will be among industry leaders in clean shipping.

What we say about Texas LNG is that it is green by design. And that means that from the very beginning when this project was first established as a concept, we designed Texas LNG to have the lowest environmental impact on this community.

And the numbers back that up I want to draw your attention please, to the graph at the top right. Texas LNG is the little gold bar on the left. Of all of the LNG projects that have been approved in the United States, Texas LNG has the lowest emissions of them all. It is literally the cleanest LNG facility that can be built here.

That’s been our commitment to you and this community since day one, and we’re deeply proud to be delivering that. It’s also important to point out that Texas LNG will have practically no methane emissions and zero production of ethane, propane, or sulfur. The most important part of our business is the health and safety of our employees, our families and the places that we operate. This applies not only for the facility that we’re building here, but our track record of what we have done on other projects around the world. We’re laser focused on safety and I’m very proud to say that Glenfarne, the developer of Texas LNG, has one of the best safety records of all U.S. industrial companies. We set a bar for zero safety incidents, and we have many plants with long track records of having zero accidents.

When we start constructing Texas LNG, our Community Investment Program will go even far and above what we’ve already done. Our contributions to Cameron County will include millions of dollars for workforce development, new public infrastructure, and charitable donations. Our charitable donations will be focused on three specific areas, education for children, workforce development and environmental conservation.

As I conclude, I want to come back to the broader vision of Texas LNG. This project is not just about building a plant. It is about our commitment to the community, the environment and the future. It represents sustainability and partnership. At Texas LNG we believe in the energy transition. We see a future where economic growth, clean energy and environment can go hand in hand.

And it’s about more than numbers. It’s about a shared vision with you of prosperity and sustainability for Cameron County. This vote is an important event. Your support is key to turning this vision into reality. By voting for the tax abatement, you’re not just voting for a project. You’re voting for a future where energy transition, jobs, economic development, innovation and sustainability lead the way. We respectfully ask for your support. Together, let’s build a stronger, greener and more prosperous Cameron County. Thank you.

Editor’s Note: The above commentary was provided by Adam Prestidge, executive vice president of Texas LNG, at a Cameron County Commissioners Court meeting on June 4, 2024. At the meeting, county commissioners held a public hearing to secure comment on a proposal to give Texas LNG a tax abatement. Presidge spoke during the public hearing. Prestidge can be reached by email via TXLNG@aldermidcompanies.com.

Editor’s Note: The “judge” Prestidge was referring to in his commentary was Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr.

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