After investing nearly $6 billion to order 18 271,000 cbm QC-Max liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from Hudong-Zhonghua Shinpbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC), in April this year, QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company of Qatar, is planning to invest nearly $5 billion (RMB 36 billion) to order a number of more LNG carriers to meet the growing demand for its LNG transportation business.
According to industry sources, QatarEnergy is planning to order four additional 271,000 cbm QC-Max LNG carriers from Hudong-Zhonghua, and has been in discussion with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), and Samsung Heavy Industries since June this year, with the intention of ordering a number of Q-Max LNG carriers from one or more of these shipbuilders. In addition, QatarEnergy plans to order 10 additional conventional 174,000 cbm LNG carriers, for which the shipyard is currently unknown.
According to South Korean media sources, QatarEnergy and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries have negotiated a total of 10 LNG carriers, valued at about $3.3 billion (RMB 23.695 billion), with 270,000 cbm Q-Max LNG carriers that can be berthed at Qatar’s LNG terminals on a normal basis. Qatar Energy is expected to sign a shipbuilding contract as early as the end of this year or the beginning of next year, sources said, however, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and other three shipbuilders will be able to get a shipbuilding contract are not yet known.
In response to this order rumor, Samsung Heavy Industries said, “Our company has previous experience in building and delivering Q-Max LNG carriers, and the company will decide whether or not to receive the order based on profitability.”
It is worth noting that QatarEnergy has previously ordered ultra-large LNG carriers from Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries, namely 31 Q-Flex LNG carriers and 14 Q-Max LNG carriers, which were built by Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries between 2008 and 2010. The Q-Flex LNG carriers have a cargo tank capacity of 210,000 m3 and the Q-Max LNG carriers have a cargo tank capacity of 266,000 m3. The Q-Max is the world’s largest LNG carrier built to date, with a length of 345 meters, a breadth of 53.8 meters and a draft of 12 meters. The “Q” stands for Qatar and the “Max” stands for the largest ship size that can berth at the Qatar LNG terminal.
Currently, QatarEnergy has 18 271,000 m3 QC-Max LNG carriers under construction, which was signed with Hudong-Zhonghua Shinpbuilding, on April 29 this year, with a total order value of nearly $6 billion (about RMB 43.4 billion), and a single-vessel cost of about $333 million. Eight of the units in the order series are expected to be delivered in 2028 and 2029, and another 10 units are expected to be delivered in 2030 and 2031. If the above four additional orders are confirmed, Hudong-Zhonghua’s orders for 271,000 m3 QC-Max LNG carriers will increase to 22 units, and the total value of the orders will be $7.26 billion if calculated at $330 million per unit.
All 18 271,000 m3 QC-Max LNG carriers undertaken by Hudong-Zhonghua in bulk have signed chartering contracts. Qatar Gas Shipping Company Nakilat, China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES), a subsidiary of China Merchants Group, Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Shandong Marine Group, and China LNG Shipping China LNG Shipping, a subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation, have signed up for nine, four, three, and two units, respectively.
It is understood that the 271,000 cbm QC-Max LNG carrier is by far the world’s largest LNG carrier, with an overall length of 344 meters, a beam of 53.6 meters, a depth of 27.2 meters, a design draft of 12 meters. Featuring a dual-fuel low-speed engine propulsion system and NO96 Super+ enclosure system, the LNG carriers is slightly smaller than the QatarEnergy Q-Max LNG carriers (345m x 53.8m x 12m) and is able to berthed normally at Qatar’s LNG terminal.
Currently, QatarEnergy’s historic LNG carrier fleet expansion program has ordered a total of 122 new vessels from Chinese and Korean shipbuilders, including 104 conventional 174,000 m3 LNG carriers and 18 QC-Max LNG carriers. Among them, South Korean shipbuilders have received a total of 98 units, and the rest are all contracted by Chinese shipbuilders.
Now, QatarEnergy is significantly increasing its LNG production from the North Field, the world’s largest single gas field, with the first phase of the expansion project (2025) increasing annual capacity from 77 million tons to 110 million tons, and the second phase (2027) to 126 million tons, with a project size of up to $40 billion. The QatarEnergy QC-Max LNG carrier will primarily serve long-term deals related to QatarEnergy’s North Gas Field Expansion Project, including deals with Chinese customers.
France’s GTT also said that there is a shortfall of about 100 LNG carriers in the global market to meet the transportation needs of LNG development projects with a total capacity of 175 million tons that have been approved and are under construction worldwide. This means that the newbuilding market for LNG carriers will once again see a wave of orders.