QatarEnergy signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with four international shipowners for the operation of 19 new, ultra-modern conventional size LNG vessels as part of the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s historic LNG fleet expansion program.
The agreements cater for the operation of six vessels by CMES LNG Carrier Investment Inc., six vessels by Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd., and three vessels by MISC Berhad; all of which are being constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The remaining four vessels will be operated by a joint venture of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) and Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd. and are being constructed at Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) also in South Korea.
His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy signed four separate sets of agreements with Mr. Wang Yongxin, the President & CEO of CMES LNG Carrier Investment; Mr. Li Maozhong, the Chairman of Shandong Marine Energy; Mr. Satoshi Kanamori, the Managing Executive Officer of K Line and Mr. Jungsuk Kim, the Vice President of Hyundai Glovis; and Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam, the President & CEO of MISC Berhad. The agreements were signed today in a special ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha, and attended by senior executives from QatarEnergy, QatarEnergy LNG, and the four shipowner companies.
Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said: “Today’s signings form a significant milestone in QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion program, as it marks the conclusion of the conventional sizes vessels portion of program, bringing the total number of ships for which we have signed TCPs to 104 vessels, a massive undertaking that is the largest shipbuilding and leasing program ever in the history of the industry. These ships will support our expanded LNG production capacity from the North Field in Qatar and Golden Pass in the U.S., while also meeting our long-term fleet replacement requirements. 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.”
His Excellency Minister Al-Kaabi added: “We are very proud to strengthen our collaboration with these esteemed shipowners. And, we have full confidence that the 19 vessels will be operated with the latest and most advanced safety, technical and environmental standards. This is an important undertaking that will enable QatarEnergy to continue delivering cleaner energy to the world safely and reliably. I would like to thank the shipowners present with us today, and to extend my thanks and gratitude to the team leaders and members from QatarEnergy and QatarEnergy LNG, who were entrusted with the acquisition and leasing of these vessels, for their dedicated work throughout the past few years. I am also honored to express my most sincere thanks and gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar for his wise leadership and guidance, and the unlimited support of the energy sector of the State of Qatar.”
Since 2022, QatarEnergy has signed a series of TCPs for the long-term charter and operation of 104 conventional LNG vessels, as part of its historic LNG fleet expansion program. This initiative will support QatarEnergy’s expanding LNG production capacity from the North Field LNG expansion and Golden Pass LNG export projects, as well as meeting its long-term fleet replacement requirements.
43 ships out of the 104 will be chartered by QatarEnergy’s affiliate “QatarEnergy Trading”, marking it the single largest one-step ship acquisition program of any single entity in the history of the LNG industry, and placing QatarEnergy and consequently QatarEnergy Trading firmly on the road to becoming a leading global LNG trader.
The 19 conventional LNG vessels, part of today’s agreements, have a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters each and will be equipped with the latest LNG shipping technologies, embodying QatarEnergy’s ongoing endeavors to achieve optimal fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.