Delfin Midstream Inc. on Tuesday committed $5 billion to deploy the first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export facility in the United States, the company announced.
The Houston-based company said in a press release that it has taken a final investment decision (FID) for Delfin FLNG 1, which will be moored offshore Louisiana in the U.S. Gulf and is expected to have an export capacity of 4.4 million tonnes of LNG per year — the largest of any floating LNG project globally.
Global Infrastructure Partners LLC, a unit of BlackRock Inc., led a new round of investment in the project alongside existing backers Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL), commodities trader Vitol Inc., and alternative credit manager Diameter Capital Partners LP.
Delfin CEO Dudley Poston called the decision "a groundbreaking milestone not only for Delfin, but also for global energy security," adding that the project would support "U.S. energy and maritime dominance by bringing safe, reliable, low-cost LNG exports to market."
The project is backed by long-term supply agreements with Vitol, Expand Energy Corp., Centrica plc, and Gunvor Group Ltd., and has received all required permits and licenses to begin construction, Delfin said.
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. and U.S. engineering and construction company Black & Veatch have been awarded construction contracts, the company added.
Delfin said it expects the vessel to begin producing LNG in 2030. The company said it is working toward investment decisions on two additional FLNG vessels in the coming year, which would bring total export capacity to 13.2 million tonnes annually.
Delfin holds a deepwater port license from the U.S. Maritime Administration and export authorization from the Department of Energy.
Delfin describes the project as a brownfield deepwater port requiring minimal additional infrastructure. The company purchased the UTOS pipeline — a 42" line and the largest natural gas pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico, formerly operated by Enbridge — in 2014 to supply feedgas to the FLNG vessels. Delfin will also construct onshore compression facilities adjacent to Transco Station 44.
The FID adds to a broader wave of U.S. Gulf LNG investment in 2026. Two other projects — Venture Global's CP2 LNG Phase 2 and Caturus' Commonwealth LNG — also reached FID earlier this year.
