The Trump administration is celebrating a significant achievement for U.S. energy exports, as Delfin Midstream has made a final investment decision (FID) on the first phase of its floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) ex...
The Trump administration is celebrating a significant achievement for U.S. energy exports, as Delfin Midstream has made a final investment decision (FID) on the first phase of its floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project off the coast of Louisiana.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced the $5 billion investment in the Delfin FLNG 1 project, which is set to be the first floating LNG export facility operating in U.S. waters, expected to start operations later this decade.
This announcement comes after Delfin disclosed on June 3 that a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, now part of BlackRock, has approved funding for the project’s first floating liquefaction vessel. Current investors include Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Vitol, and Diameter Capital Partners.
For the Trump administration, this is one of the first big initiatives to progress under its plan to boost LNG exports, which came after reversing the previous administration’s halt on new export approvals.
“Every cargo that leaves this port is a commitment the United States is able to keep,” said MARAD Administrator Stephen Carmel during a speech celebrating this milestone.
This project is also a significant win for MARAD, which manages the licensing of offshore energy terminals under the Deepwater Port Act. Delfin’s deepwater port license, granted in 2025, was the first ever issued for an offshore LNG export facility in U.S. history.
Instead of traditional LNG export terminals built onshore, Delfin's project will use floating liquefaction vessels connected to existing offshore pipeline infrastructure, located about 41 nautical miles from Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Supporters argue this method reduces the need for onshore construction and allows U.S. producers to increase export capacity more quickly.
Delfin FLNG 1 is designed to export up to 4.4 million metric tons of LNG each year. The company eventually aims to deploy three floating LNG vessels, with a total liquefaction capacity of 13.2 million metric tons per year, which is around 1.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The first vessel is currently being built by Samsung Heavy Industries of South Korea and is expected to start production in 2030.
The project has secured long-term sales agreements for LNG with major buyers including Centrica, Germany’s SEFE, Vitol, and Gunvor, which supports the initial phase of development.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has prioritized speeding up approvals for deepwater ports, following his announcement earlier this year that MARAD would simplify the federal licensing process. Since then, the agency has issued two deepwater port licenses, including the approval for Texas GulfLink, a proposed offshore crude oil export terminal off the Texas coast.
The Delfin project has been in development for over ten years and is seen as a key experiment to determine whether floating LNG technology—already used in places like Australia, Africa, and Southeast Asia—can be successfully adapted for large-scale natural gas exports in the U.S.