South Korea lands $2.8 billion deal for U.S. LNG facility

South Korea has won a US$2.8 billion deal to develop an offshore facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States, the Seoul government said Thursday.

Under the deal, a team comprising the South Korean government, public institutions and private companies won a contract to build one unit of a floating LNG facility in Louisiana, according to a joint release from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. is the main contractor, though the government did not disclose the name of the client.

A floating LNG facility is an offshore floating facility used for LNG production and related operations in offshore natural gas development.

The broader U.S. project, valued at $4.8 billion, aims to produce 4.4 million tons of LNG annually in waters off Louisiana, with construction expected to take five years and operations planned for 25 years.

The Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp., the Green Fund and the Korea Ocean Business Corp. have invested a combined $150 million in a fund led by BlackRock, a global asset management company, to support Samsung Heavy Industries' bid for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal.

Samsung Heavy said it plans to begin construction after receiving a notice to proceed from the client and deliver the facility by July 2030.

"We will continue to provide robust policy support to help transform the overseas construction industry into a high-value-added sector that creates quality jobs," the government said in a release.

"In particular, we will expand investments in overseas energy, port and other infrastructure projects to strengthen our capacity to respond to global supply chain challenges," it added.