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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is expected to sign a contract next month with U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin Midstream for the construction of the first floating LNG production, storage, and offloading (FLNG) facility, valued at approximately KRW 4 trillion ($30 billion).
On the 13th, Delfin announced on its website that it had extended the letter of award (LOA) with SHI for the construction of the first FLNG unit, stating that “initial collaboration work for the Delfin LNG project is entering the final stages, and the final investment decision (FID) is expected next month.” The LOA extension generally signals that detailed contract negotiations are nearing completion following the selection of the main contractor.
Delfin has also taken steps to execute the project, including signing an LOA with U.S. engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm Black & Veatch and issuing a purchase order (PO) for gas turbine packages from Siemens Energy, marking the start of key equipment procurement. The Delfin LNG project, located approximately 74 km off the coast of Louisiana in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, plans to deploy up to three FLNG units to produce and export a maximum of 13.2 million tons of LNG per year. Industry observers expect SHI to continue collaborating with Delfin on potential second and third FLNG units.
Each FLNG unit, valued at around KRW 4 trillion, is a complex offshore facility designed to extract subsea natural gas, liquefy it, and load it directly onto LNG carriers. SHI has maintained a long-term investment strategy in the FLNG sector since the early 2010s, even as low oil prices caused significant losses across the industry and many competitors exited the market.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
