A floating liquefied natural gas vessel / Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
A Korean public-private consortium has secured a $2.8 billion contract to build a massive floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel for an export project off the coast of Louisiana, officials said Thursday, a deal intended to anchor Korea’s dominance in high-tech shipbuilding while shielding its economy from volatile global energy supply chains.
The contract, awarded to Samsung Heavy Industries on Monday by Delfin Midstream, was structured through a novel financing arrangement. Korean state-backed financial institutions co-invested directly in a fund managed by Global Infrastructure Partners, an affiliate of the asset management giant BlackRock that is leading the Louisiana project.
The $5 billion Delfin venture, which is also backed by the Japanese shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and commodity trader Vitol, reached a final investment decision earlier this week. The project’s first vessel is scheduled to begin production in 2030, converting American natural gas into liquid form for export.
Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessels function as mobile, offshore factories. Equipped to liquefy, store and transfer natural gas directly from undersea wells, they bypass the need for contentious and expensive onshore infrastructure. For Korea’s shipbuilders, they represent the peak of high-margin maritime engineering. Samsung Heavy Industries has now won six of the 10 FLNG orders placed globally.
