INTERVIEW: US-based Liberty Bay FLNG plans floating LNG project in Mexico or Argentina

Houston-based Liberty Bay FLNG is finalizing plans for a 1.4 million metric ton/year floating LNG project in either Mexico or Argentina, aiming for startup in late 2029 or early 2030 as the developer looks to avoid delays and cost overruns experienced by a similar offshore project, according to CEO Deepak Bawa.

Bawa is a former managing director of New Fortress Energy, who worked on the company's Altamira LNG export terminal in northern Mexico, another 1.4 million mt/year project that came online in 2024. Setbacks that delayed Altamira LNG contributed to New Fortress' financial difficulties before the company entered a restructuring agreement with creditors earlier this year.

But Bawa told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, that the proposed Liberty Bay facility would benefit from the lessons learned from the Altamira LNG project.

"It's not a first-of-a-kind thing, and that makes it way stronger," Bawa said in a recent interview. "We are just trying to be practical and start with one small project, which has already been done before."

The Liberty Bay project would differ in some key ways.

Instead of three repurposed jackup rigs, the Liberty Bay developer plans to use one new-built jackup rig for a floating project on a single fixed platform, which Bawa said would reduce costs.

The estimated $1 billion project could be developed in about 30 months from a final investment decision, according to Bawa, who said the company expects to announce technology agreements and partners in the project this month.

Bawa described the relatively small size of the Liberty Bay FLNG as an advantage for signing up offtake and securing financing.

"Today, when everyone is looking for this LNG in different parts of the world, this is a solution that we think can help this industry," Bawa said.

FLNG approach

Since Altamira reached commercial operations in late 2024, it has emerged as a reliable and flexible supplier, exporting some 1.65 million mt/y in 2025, according to S&P Global Energy CERA analysts.

"The plant introduced a new approach to liquefaction, and it had to overcome some issues along the way, but it has been able to consistently produce above its nameplate capacity," CERA LNG analyst Theo Kassuga said.

Even though large onshore LNG project are expected to continue to dominate the global market, CERA forecasts global floating LNG capacity to triple by the 2040s, reaching around 45 million mt/year of capacity. Floating projects are expected to account for around 8% of global liquefaction capacity additions through the end of the decade.

The projects offer an alternative approach for monetizing gas resources with lower capital requirements and greater operational flexibility, along with a way to avoid logistical and cost burdens that some onshore projects in underdeveloped regions face, according to CERA analysts. Projects in Africa account for over a third of floating LNG capacity already under construction.

Several projects are in various stages of development in the Americas, including the 3.3 million mt/year Cedar LNG facility in Western Canada already under construction.

"There could be gains in construction efficiency that would translate into faster deployment," Kassuga said. "FLNG will have its niche where its pros outweigh its cons, but onshore is likely to remain where the bulk of the world's liquefaction capacity is installed."

As with the Altamira project, Liberty Bay FLNG would seek to build outside the US to avoid a lengthier permitting timeline. Bawa said that approach could also help LNG buyers meet their goals of diversifying their supply portfolios, a growing priority for many amid supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.

The company expects to apply for a permit to build the project by early 2027.

Global LNG prices remain elevated and volatile amid the conflict.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the June JKM benchmark price reflecting LNG delivered to Northeast Asia at $16.951/million British thermal units on May 8, roughly flat day over day but still nearly 60% higher than pre-war levels.

The Liberty Bay CEO said the company is in talks with potential offtake customers in India and Europe and in discussions with regulators in Mexico and Argentina as it considers sites near the Altamira project and near the Southern LNG project off the coast of Argentina's Rio Negro province.

"We are not living in a dreamland," Bawa said. "We know what it takes to build this kind of asset and from where the funding can come."