Delfin reaches final investment decision on US' first floating LNG export project

US developer Delfin Midstream said June 3 it reached a $5 billion final investment decision on the country's first floating LNG export vessel, marking the third US liquefaction project to advance to construction this year.

The project will add about 4.4 million metric tons/year of LNG export capacity off the coast of Louisiana, with a scheduled startup in in 2030. Delfin is developing two additional floating LNG vessels that it said it will aim to launch over the coming year, for a total liquefaction capacity of about 13.2 million mt/year.

"We are excited by our ability to support US energy and maritime dominance by bringing safe, reliable, low-cost LNG exports to market," Delfin CEO Dudley Poston said in a statement announcing the decision.

Delfin said a group of investors led by Blackrock's Global Infrastructure Partners and including Mitsui, Vitol, Diamond Capital Partners agreed to invest in the first phase of the project.

Offtakers of the project include US upstream producer Expand Energy, the UK's Centrica, Germany's state-owned SEFE and commodities traders Vitol and Gunvor. The company has construction contracts for the project with Samsung Heavy Industries and Black & Veatch.

The FID on the Delfin project comes as supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East are supporting strong demand for US LNG volumes and an increased focus on security of supply.

The war continues to constrain about 20% of global LNG supply that normally transits the Strait of Hormuz, keeping global spot prices elevated and volatile.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the July JKM benchmark price for cargo delivered to Northeast Asia at $19.011/million British thermal units on June 3, up 44.9 cents/MMBtu from the previous assessment and about 78% higher than pre-war levels.

In the Atlantic, Platts assessed the DES Northwest Europe marker for July at $16.643/MMBtu on June 3, an increase of 46.4 cents/MMBtu day over day and still about 68% higher than before the conflict.

Delfin had targeted an FID in February on the first vessel but was forced to delay those plans after an explosion on a Louisiana pipeline that would supply the offshore project early that same month.

The previous US projects to reach FIDs in 2026 include Caturus' Commonwealth LNG project in May and an expansion of Venture Global's CP2 LNG project in March, both in Louisiana.