Hogan Lovells supports Delfin LNG’s journey to build the first U.S. floating LNG project

Press releases | 15 June 2026

Washington, D.C. – Global law firm Hogan Lovells continues to advise longtime client Delfin LNG on key regulatory, corporate, litigation, and strategic matters as the company advances construction of the first offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) export deepwater port and floating LNG (FLNG) vessel project in the United States.

The firm was honored to host the June 9 signing ceremony for Delfin LNG and Samsung Heavy Industries to commemorate the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) contract to build the first FLNG vessel of the Delfin LNG project (Delfin FLNG 1). Delfin FLNG 1 will be the largest FLNG vessel globally, with an expected export capacity of 4.4 million tons of LNG per year and will be the first of three FLNG vessels that will serve Delfin LNG’s deepwater port. The ceremony also commemorated a supply agreement between Delfin and Centrica for second vessel Delfin FLNG 2.

The ceremony follows Delfin’s milestone announcement last week of its $5 billion Final Investment Decision for Delfin FLNG 1, occurring just over a year after Delfin received its Maritime Administration (MARAD) license authorizing the Delfin LNG deepwater port project.

The Hogan Lovells team has worked with Delfin for over 10 years in connection with its deepwater port license application and the development of the Delfin LNG deepwater port project in and offshore Louisiana. Delfin’s LNG project is the first offshore LNG export project in the U.S. to receive a MARAD deepwater port license.

“This moment reflects years of strategic development, technical innovation, and regulatory progress, with Delfin now positioned to translate a long-standing vision for U.S. offshore LNG into execution through FID and the EPC phase,” says Hogan Lovells team lead Joanne Rotondi.

Attendees at the signing ceremony included investors Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), one of the world’s largest operators of LNG carriers, Vitol, a leading energy and commodities trader, and Diameter Capital Partners, a leading alternative credit asset manager. Government attendees included, U.S. Department of Transportation’s MARAD Administrator Stephen M. Carmel, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly, U.S. Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit, and Her Excellency Kang Kyung-wha, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States.

The Hogan Lovells team that advises Delfin includes Joanne Rotondi, Hannah Graae, Jim Banks, Les Reese, Cate Stetson, Sean Marotta, Jennifer Adams, Chris Pickens, Anne Carpenter, Paige Laborde, and Catalina Parkinson.