QatarEnergy has firmed up its massive LNG shipbuilding program at 104 vessels, having finalised charter contracts with Asian shipowners for 19 newbuilds that will be built in South Korea.
The state-owned LNG giant has inked long-term contracts to charter six 174,000 cu m ships from China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) LNG Carrier Investment, another six from Shandong Marine Energy and three vessels from Malaysia’s MISC, all to be constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries. An additional four newbuilds will be operated by the Japanese/South Korean joint venture between Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Hyundai Glovis and built at Hanwha Ocean.
Qatar’s LNG shipbuilding program is the largest of its kind in the history of this sector. The first phase saw several selected owners contract 60 ships at Korean and Chinese shipyards, backed by long-term charters with QatarEnergy and its affiliates. The second phase kicked off in September last year in a deal worth nearly $4bn with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for 17 LNG carriers and continued into 2024 with Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean securing orders for 15 and 12 ships, respectively.
The ships will support Qatar’s expanded LNG production capacity from the country’s North Field and Golden Pass in the US while also meeting long-term fleet replacement requirements.
The latest signings marked the conclusion of the conventional-sized vessel portion of the program, with supersize LNG carriers known as Q-Maxes expected to follow. Doha-based gas shipping giant Nakilat recently put pen to paper for 17 HD Hyundai Heavy units and eight booked at Hanwha Ocean.
“The careful shipowner selection process followed a detailed and rigorous global tender, signifying QatarEnergy’s commitment to expanding its fleet of modern LNG carriers in collaboration with world-class shipowners and in an open and transparent manner,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy.
