LNG

QatarEnergy, the leading global LNG producer and with three growth projects being developed has signed time-charter party (TCP) agreements with Qatar Gas Transport Co. (Nakilat) for the operation of 25 conventional-size LNG vessels as part of the second shipowner tender under Qatar’s LNG fleet expansion programme.

The agreements were signed in Doha by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and Chief Executive of QatarEnergy and Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, the CEO of Nakilat.

A statement said that 17 of the 25 LNG vessels are being constructed at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in South Korea, while the remaining eight are being constructed at Hanwha Ocean, formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, also in South Korea.

“These agreements firm up last month’s selection of Nakilat as the owner and operator of up to 25 conventional-size LNG carriers, underscoring our continued confidence in Qatar’s flagship LNG shipping and maritime company,” said Al-Kaabi.

“This is a testament to Nakilat’s world-class capabilities as well as to the significant contributions of Qatari listed companies to our country’s national economy,” he explained.

“The agreements we signed today play an important role in implementing QatarEnergy’s historic LNG shipping programme, which will cater for our future requirements, as we move forward with the expansion of our LNG production capacity to 142 million tonnes per annum by 2030,” Al-Kaabi stated.

Each of the 25 vessels will have a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres and will be chartered out by Nakilat to affiliates of QatarEnergy pursuant to the 15-year TCP agreements.

Liquefaction surge

Qatar announced at the end of February 2024 that it was going ahead with a third huge expansion called the North Field West (NFW) project to take overall output to 142 MTPA by the end of the decade.

The NFW joint venture will add to production expansions already under way with the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS) LNG projects.

The current NFE ramp-up of QatarEnergy’s liquefaction capacity will take production from 77 MTPA to 110 MTPA by 2027.

The second phase, called the NFS venture, will further increase the LNG output capacity from 110 MTPA to 126 MTPA.

The new NFW project will be developed to take production to 142 MTPA.

Overall the three expansions will put into production a total of eight LNG mega-Trains, each with nameplate capacity of around 8 MTPA and total additional nameplate capacity of just over 64 MTPA.

Nov 8 (LNGJ) - Capital Gas Ship Management Corp., the LNG fleet owner headquartered in the Greek port of Piraeus, has taken delivery of its latest newbuild LNG carrier, the “Amore Mio I”. The ship with 174,000 cubic metres capacity was built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea.

   Capital Gas said that the carrier is the eighth of the 18 most modern LNG vessels that will be delivered to the company through 2027. The “Amore Mio I” is powered by MAN-MEGA engines and equipped with the latest available technologies, including an air lubrication system, shaft generators and an increased filling limits above 99 percent. “The vessel represents the vanguard of the new generation of LNG carriers, setting an industry benchmark with its exceptionally low environmental impact,” the company said.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), one of the world’s leading builders of LNG carriers, has revealed plans to set up a global research and development alliance on shipbuilding technologies with universities in the US, Scotland and South Korea and with the top maritime classification societies.

Dec 29 (LNGJ) - The three main South Korean shipyards specializing in LNG newbuilds have confirmed receiving orders in 2020 for 46 LNG carriers, or 73 percent of the 63 orders placed worldwide. Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering said they had achieved 91 percent, 65 percent and 75 percent respectively of their order targets during the year. KSOE is the world's leading shipbuilding group comprising Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

Gaztransport and Technigaz (GTT), the French technology firm and designer of liquefied natural gas storage tanks, has received an order from two South Korean shipyards for tank designs for six LNG carriers for Asian and European owners.

Steelhead LNG, the Canadian export project for Vancouver Island backed by a native North American First Nation tribe, is making progress and signed an accord at the Gastech 2018 conference in Barcelona for the engineering phase of two floating production and storage hulls.

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering of South Korea said it was awarded an order for two LNG carriers due for delivery in August 2019 and worth over $360 million to add to the multiple options sought by floating storage and regasification project company Excelerate Energy of the US.

Samsung Heavy Industries said it won an order to build two new liquefied natural gas carriers, giving a boost to the South Korean shipyard engineering industry in the midst of a downturn.