South Korea wins Louisiana FLNG project

South Korea’s government, public institutions and private companies have jointly secured a U.S. offshore energy project worth about 4 trillion won ($2.8 billion).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said June 4 that a South Korean consortium had won a contract for the first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility to be deployed off the coast of Louisiana. The contract was awarded on June 1 local time. FLNG facilities are built at shipyards and installed offshore, where they process natural gas from nearby fields into LNG for storage and shipment.

The project involves an offshore facility capable of producing 4.4 million metric tons of LNG annually about 74 kilometers off the Louisiana coast. The overall project is valued at $4.8 billion. Samsung Heavy Industries will handle engineering, procurement and construction work, securing contracts worth $2.8 billion, or roughly 4 trillion won. Construction is expected to take five years, followed by a 25-year operating period.

The project will also incorporate low-emission technologies developed by South Korean companies. These include selective catalytic reduction systems, which reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by converting them into nitrogen and water, and heat recovery steam generators that capture waste heat to produce steam and electricity, improving overall energy efficiency.

According to the government, the project is structured as an investment-led development venture covering financing, construction and operations. A fund led by global asset manager BlackRock has attracted a combined $150 million in investment from the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp. (KIND), the Green Fund and the Korea Ocean Business Corp.


김은지 기자 eunji@donga.com