Delfin Midstream has announced a final investment decision (FID) of $5 billion for the construction of the first of three planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) production vessels as part of a project with a capacity of 13.2 million tons per year in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Key Project Parameters

The first Delfin LNG vessel is designed to produce 4.4 million tons of LNG annually. The first batch of production is expected by 2030. Investors in the project include Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), affiliated with BlackRock, Mitsui OSK Lines, Vitol, and Diameter Capital Partners.

The company plans to accelerate investment decisions for the second and third vessels during the remainder of 2026.

Long-term Agreements and Partners

Long-term LNG sales agreements for the first vessel have been signed with Vitol, Expand Energy, Centrica, and Gunvor. Delfin notes that this will be the first floating LNG facility in the U.S. and the largest FLNG project in the world.

Construction and Contractors

Samsung Heavy Industries has signed a contract worth approximately $2.9 billion to build the offshore production facility for the North American client, Delfin Midstream. In October last year, Delfin and Samsung signed a letter of intent for an exclusive contract covering the design, procurement, construction, and installation of the first FLNG vessel, with the agreement extended in January.

Siemens Energy and Black & Veatch are also involved in the project as contractors. Black & Veatch is responsible for the design and procurement of the topside, as well as pre-commissioning and commissioning of the FLNG vessels. Siemens Energy will supply the gas turbine drives.

Location and Additional Investments

The vessel will be located about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana. Delfin’s announcement follows two other major investment decisions for LNG projects in the U.S. in 2026.

Recently, a $9.75 billion investment decision was announced by Caturus for the Commonwealth LNG project in southwest Louisiana. In March, Venture Global reported closing $8.6 billion in financing for the second phase of the Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) project, also in Louisiana.

Further north, Fluor announced that its joint venture with JGC Corporation received limited approval from Shell to begin preliminary work on the second phase of the LNG Canada project.