Qatar orders new vessels for LNG expansion

Qatar's state-owned QP has ordered four new LNG carriers from China's Hudong Zhonghua shipyard, the first of several batches planned as part of a massive shipbuilding program to handle its coming gas capacity expansion.

The order is worth more than 2.8bn Qatari Riyals ($770mn) and is Qatar's first with a Chinese shipyard for LNG ships, QP said. It is also the first with Hudong "in connection with the agreement to reserve ship construction capacity that was executed in April 2020."

Last year, QP reserved LNG carrier construction capacity at three South Korean shipyards as well as Hudong Zhonghua through to the end of 2027 to build as many as 100 new LNG carriers, a programme worth more than $19.2bn.

QP's subsidiary Qatargas currently operates a fleet of 45 Q-Flex and Q-Max LNG carriers.

The fleet program will play a critical role in meeting QP's shipping requirements from its local and international LNG projects, such as Golden Pass in the US, as well as replacing some of its LNG fleet.

In February, QP sanctioned the first $28.75bn phase of investment in new production trains to boost capacity to 110mn t/yr before the end of 2025. A second phase of the expansion will take Qatar's capacity to 126mn t/yr by the end of 2027.

Along with the additional gas from the North Field expansion, the new vessels will also cater for LNG volumes from the Golden Pass LNG project in the US, in which QP holds a 70pc stake. Capacity at the export facility in Texas is set to increase by 2.5mn t/yr to 18.1mn t/yr in 2026.

By Adal Mirza