Rio Grande LNG Provides Great Opportunities for Students

As a Los Fresnos resident pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Gas Engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville/Rio Grande Valley Engineering Initiative, I’ve been following the proposed Rio Grande LNG project with great interest.

From what I’ve learned, it will be a tremendous economic boost for our region. I hope to work on the project when I graduate. Because the Rio Grande LNG project would be just a 30-minute commute from my hometown I could have my dream job and be near my family and friends.

I see many young people earn college degrees, then have to leave the Valley to advance their careers. If there were more opportunities in this area, we would not have to choose between our careers and being close to our families.

I also was glad to read that NextDecade, the company developing the project, has signed a memorandum of understanding with The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. NextDecade and its partners, who are some of the most respected international companies in the business, will provide real-world learning opportunities to benefit students.

The United States has some of the most abundant reserves of natural gas, a clean-burning fuel. As global demand grows, we will need more Natural Gas Engineers to support the exploration, production, distribution, processing and transportation of natural gas.

I’m looking forward to graduating and working in this exciting, ever-growing field. Bravo NextDecade for committing to help train qualified engineers and hiring local talent as much as possible.

Eddie Duran
Los Fresnos, TX