NextDecade signs LNG supply deal with Japan's Itochu Corp

(Reuters) - NextDecade Corp said on Thursday it will supply 1 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas per annum to Japan's Itochu Corp for 15 years from its Rio Grande LNG export project in Brownsville, Texas.

NextDecade's shares rose 2.7% to $5.35 in premarket trading.

The deal is the latest in a series of long-term contracts for U.S. LNG after sanctions on major producer Russia due to the Ukraine conflict squeezed an already-tight global supply.

NextDecade signed deals last year with Exxon Mobil Corp, China's ENN Natural Gas Co Ltd and Portugal's Galp Trading SA to supply LNG from the Rio Grande project.

NextDecade expects to make final investment decisions on up to three trains related to the project during the first quarter of 2023.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)