바다 위 에너지 혁명, 삼성중공업이 쏘아 올린 미국 LNG 시장의 신호탄 > K-wave Trends

The core of this project lies in the innovative approach of handling all processes at sea, breaking away from the existing land-based LNG plant method. This project, promoted by Delphine Midstream, is attracting attention as an alternative that can dramatically reduce the enormous licensing costs and delay risks associated with onshore plant construction. Samsung Heavy Industries re-proved its unrivaled technological prowess by recording an overwhelming 64% share of the global FLNG newbuilding market through the $2.9 billion contract to build Unit 1 announced on the 2nd. In particular, this signing ceremony was attended by a large number of officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Maritime Administration, as well as representatives of major shipping and energy companies such as global asset managers such as Blackrock and MOL, adding to the weight of the project. This clearly shows that Samsung Heavy Industries' design and construction capabilities go beyond simple technological superiority and are fully trusted by global financial and energy policy decision-makers.

The strategic advantage that Samsung Heavy Industries gains through this project goes beyond the construction of Unit 1. Delphin is currently pursuing the construction of Units 2 and 3 sequentially, and Samsung Heavy Industries is closely negotiating contracts for these follow-up volumes. In the shipbuilding industry, repeated construction of ‘same specifications’ is the key to maximizing profitability through shortening construction period and reducing costs. If orders for units 2 and 3 are successful, the total contract size is expected to exceed 12 trillion won, which will serve as a strong support for Samsung Heavy Industries' mid- to long-term sales structure. As North America is emerging as the world's largest LNG producer, Samsung Heavy Industries is expected to use this project as a bridgehead to take the lead in the entire North American LNG value chain.

Samsung Heavy Industries, led by Vice Chairman Choi Seong-an, is seeking to evolve beyond a simple ship builder into a ‘floating platform solution company.’ Since taking office, Vice Chairman Choi has focused on controlling process delays and cost volatility, which are chronic problems in the offshore plant business, by making 'building a standardized model' a core management value. This standardization strategy is expanding not only to FLNG but also to the rapidly emerging floating data center (FDC) business. This strategy of solving the limitations of land-based data centers, which have difficulty securing land due to power supply and cooling efficiency issues, on the sea is a challenge made possible by the floating body technology and LNG infrastructure capabilities built up through FLNG. Samsung Heavy Industries has already entered the technical verification stage by obtaining FDC concept design certification from the US and UK classification societies.

This Delphine project signing ceremony clearly presents the direction in which the Korean shipbuilding industry should move. We have moved away from the past competition for low-price orders and have now entered a phase where we are playing a key role in building global energy infrastructure based on high-value offshore plant technology. The attendance of government officials from both countries, including Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha, suggests that this project has become an important milestone in Korea-US energy cooperation beyond simple business between companies. Vice Chairman Choi Seong-an's actions, which promise to maintain world-class quality and strictly adhere to delivery dates, are raising the brand value of the Korean shipbuilding industry to the next level in the global energy market. Now, Samsung Heavy Industries is leading the paradigm of the future market by simultaneously targeting two core values: energy and data created on the sea.