NextDecade Corporation has appointed John Zuklic as chief financial officer, bringing a veteran energy industry executive to its leadership team as the company advances the development and construction of its Rio Grande LNG export project in South Texas.
Zuklic will assume the role on July 6, succeeding interim CFO Mike Mott, who will return to his previous position as senior vice president of enterprise transformation.
The appointment comes at a critical stage for NextDecade as it transitions from a project development company into an LNG operator, overseeing one of the largest liquefied natural gas infrastructure projects currently under construction in the United States.
Zuklic brings more than three decades of experience in the energy sector, with expertise spanning corporate finance, treasury, capital markets, risk management, governance, and large-scale organizational transformation. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, where he led financial strategy, recapitalization efforts, and initiatives to strengthen forecasting, governance, and financial decision-making processes.
Prior to CITGO, Zuklic spent much of his career with Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips, holding senior leadership roles in treasury, corporate finance, enterprise transformation, and risk management. Following the separation of Phillips 66 from ConocoPhillips, he served as vice president and treasurer, overseeing global treasury operations and enterprise financing activities. He later led a companywide enterprise resource planning transformation initiative.
Matt Schatzman, chairman and chief executive officer of NextDecade, said Zuklic’s background managing growth and transformation within large energy infrastructure businesses will be valuable as the company moves into its next phase of development.
The leadership change reflects the increasing operational and financial complexity facing NextDecade as it advances construction and financing efforts at Rio Grande LNG, a large-scale natural gas liquefaction and export facility near Brownsville, Texas. The project is expected to play a significant role in expanding U.S. LNG export capacity amid growing global demand for natural gas.
NextDecade said the Rio Grande LNG site has approximately 48 million tonnes per annum of potential liquefaction capacity either under construction or in development. The facility also includes room for up to 10 liquefaction trains and plans for a potential carbon capture and storage project.
The appointment underscores the importance of experienced financial leadership as energy infrastructure companies navigate multibillion-dollar capital programs, evolving regulatory requirements, and increasing investor scrutiny around project execution and long-term growth strategies.
Houston-based NextDecade trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NEXT and focuses on the development and operation of LNG infrastructure intended to support global energy demand while advancing lower-emission energy solutions.