Wood: Tax abatements tell financial companies that local communities support what’s happening

Judge, commissioners, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. I feel really honored to be able to be in this beautiful building. Good memories.

Judge you are right. There’s some major interest in both LNG companies coming to Brownsville. And just like Flor de Mayo (International Bridge) has taken well over 20 years, deepening the channel has taken over more than 20 years.

When I became a port commissioner ten years ago, the other commissioners, they were all busy. We all are. They felt like that I was probably the least busy since I was kind of semi-retired.

So, I got the honor to be not only the commissioner who was going to deal with and work with the LNG companies who were just starting to look at Brownsville at that time. I also got the honor to work with the (U.S.) Corps of Engineers, our engineers and everybody else on the deepening of the channel. And honestly in the last ten years, these things have come forward tremendously.

I’m here basically for both LNG companies. I’m their commissioner, working with them day in and day out. And sometimes we have a free day, and we don’t have to work but you know how it is. Things come and go. Things get hot from time to time.

You asked the question about the deepening of the channel and NextDecade’s participation there. It is a public private partnership. The only one in the United States with the Corps of Engineers, with the federal government, on a channel deepening project. There’s only two others and they’re in the interior of the United States. So, we had a lot of work with the Corps of Engineers to work through how they’re going to handle this.

I don’t know what the actual dollar figure is for the contract that NextDecade has with Great Lakes, the dredging company, but I can estimate from what we’re going to have with the portion the port’s going to be doing with the Corps, I can estimate it’s going to be well over $400 million. Now I know Mr. Keane just mentioned that you know $400 million plus, maybe $500 million. And it could very well be. So, there’s a tremendous amount of money going into the area.

With Texas LNG, you’ve seen several things that next decade has done already. You’re going to have a report or a presentation from Texas LNG and a lot of these same type of issues are going to be coming up. New industry, new jobs, jobs that pay extremely well. How many how many of us in here, right now, make $100,000 a year on a job? And we certainly don’t have that in the population.

One of our main goals at the Port of Brownsville is to bring in industry, clean industry that will provide jobs for the community and the community meaning from here throughout the Rio Grande Valley because we feel like we serve the entire Rio Grande Valley.

Texas LNG, for example, is going to be doing some of the very similar things that NextDecade has already been doing. But Texas LNG is really kind of just getting started after ten years on putting their figures together and getting their finance together. And financing obviously is extremely important.

I thank the Court for having the abatements that they’ve had for NextDecade and for other entities because oftentimes these abatements tell the financial companies from throughout the world that the local area, the local public, the local leaders in the community support what’s happening, by providing some respect to the abatements.

And as you have seen and pointed out on the abatements that are coming in and that’s already scheduled to be coming in the NextDecade, you’re going to have a similar type thing from Texas LNG.

And one thing I do want to point out before Texas LNG gets up here to make their formal presentation. Because I may miss it. I don’t think they will, but they may. They’re going to be the cleanest LNG facility operation in the world. Because what they’re going to be using to power their equipment and their turbines and everything that creates the LNG itself, they’re going to be using electricity, not natural gas. They’ll be bringing in natural gas and convert it to liquid natural gas. But everything they’re going to be using outside to operate will be electricity.

Jobs, jobs, and more jobs. And it’s just amazing how many hundreds of years (have gone by). Well, not hundreds. Let’s see, how long, how old is Cameron County, Judge? A long time and we’ve never had the types of jobs or income that we’ve needed to do everything that we’d like to see done in the county (of Cameron) and in the city (of Brownsville).

So, this is an opportunity to help all of us do that. And I really do appreciate your time, and I certainly respect your decisions. And I appreciate whatever you can do for this next item that’s coming up on Texas LNG.

Editor’s Note: The commentary was provided by Brownsville Navigation District Commissioner John Wood at a public hearing held by Cameron County Commissioners Court of June 4, 2024. The hearing was held to discuss a new tax abatement for Texas LNG and a revision to a tax abatement the county had previously given to NextDacade/Rio Grande LNG. Both companies plan to build liquefied natural gas export terminals at the Port of Brownsville. Commissioner Wood can be reached by email via:  jwarealty@aol.com.

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