Samsung Heavy Industries recently signed an agreement with Qatar Energy for the construction of six 174,000 cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The cost of a single newbuilding is about 300 billion won (about $220 million), and the total value of the six-vessel order is about 1.8 trillion won (about $1.32 billion). Samsung Heavy Industries’ has 16 slots reserved under a slot reservation agreement signed in 2020, but the number of agreements that have been revealed is only six. More vessel slots are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
This is the second contract signed under the second phase of Qatar Energy’s ” Hundred Ships Program”. The vessels are 299 meters long, 46.4 meters wide and 26.5 meters high. The first contract in the second phase was awarded to HD Hyundai, which announced on October 26 that it had signed a contract with Qatar Energy for the construction of 17 174,000 cbm LNG carriers, with an order value of about 5.2511 trillion won (about $3.9 billion at the time), and an individual ship cost of about $230 million.
Qatar Energy, the world’s largest producer of LNG, plans to increase its annual LNG production from 77 million tons to 126 million tons by 2027, and this increase in production means a rise in demand for transport vessels. To ensure capacity, Qatar Energy has signed a ” Hundred Ship Program ” booking agreement with four shipyards in China and South Korea (CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding; South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean) in the year 2020. During the first phase of the order, three Korean shipbuilders contracted a total of 54 ships, Hanwha Ocean (former Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine), Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Group, were awarded 19, 18, 17; CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a total of 11 ships in force.
Previously, Qatar Energy ” Hundred Ship Program ” second phase of the order size of 40 ships, of which HD Hyundai Group plans to take no less than 10, Samsung Heavy Industries take no less than 16, Hanwha Ocean take no less than 12. Based on the published data, the three South Korean shipbuilding enterprises order changes. HD Hyundai Group’s order is more than the expected target of 7, while Samsung Heavy Industries currently only 6, Hanwha Ocean’s order size is not yet known. According to Trade Winds, Hanwha Ocean’s 12-ship order may “need more time” to be confirmed due to Hanwha Group’s acquisition.
Meanwhile, news sources said that the size of the order book for the second phase may increase to 50 units. Therefore, South Korean media earlier predicted that since HD Hyundai Group’s order intake is significantly higher than expected, the other 2 shipbuilding companies are also likely to win a higher-than-expected number of orders.
According to previous reports, Qatar Energy will also discuss the second phase of orders with one or two Chinese shipyards after placing orders with South Korean shipyards. Qatar Energy has booked a total of 20 LNG carriers at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. Sources said Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding is expected to take six to eight vessels in the second phase.
As planned, Qatar Energy expected to finalize the confirmation of the second stage order with the relevant shipowner by the end of November. This will be followed by the signing of contracts with the relevant shipyards for the construction of new vessels in December.
Qatar Energy has plans to order 151 LNG carriers in three installments, with the second phase of the Hundred Ship Program underway and the third phase in the works. In September, shipbuilding sources told LNG Prime that Qatar Energy is seeking to order 15 Q-Max ultra-large LNG carriers from China and South Korean, and the final contract is expected to be finalized by the end of this year, with an order value of billions of dollars. Recently, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has received Approval-in-Principle (AiP) from ABS, LR, BV and DNV for the design of the 271,000 cbm ultra-large LNG carrier, and it is expected to receive an order for new shipbuildings in the Qatar project.