QatarEnergy Signs Charter Agreements for 19 LNG Vessels

QatarEnergy and four international shipowners—CMES LNG Carrier Investment, Shandong Marine Energy, MISC Berhad, and a joint venture between Kawasaki and Hyundai—signed TCP agreements for the operation of 19 conventional size LNG vessels. These TCP signings represent the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion program.

“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,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, President and CEO of QatarEnergy. “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 shipowners and in an open and transparent manner.”

The TCP agreements cover the operation of six vessels by CMES LNG Carrier Investments, six vessels by Shandong Marine Energy, and three vessels by MISC Berhad. Samsung Heavy Industries will build these 15 LNG vessels at its shipyards in South Korea. The final four vessels fall under a joint venture between Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Hyundai Glovis and are being built at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyards, also in South Korea. Each of these vessels have a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters and will be outfitted with modern LNG shipping technologies to maintain optimal fuel efficiency and minimize carbon output in transport.

Al-Kaabi signed four separate TCP agreements with representatives of the companies at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha. Since the start of its LNG fleet expansion program in 2022, the company amassed a series of TCPs for the long-term charter and operation of its now 104-strong LNG fleet. A company affiliate, QatarEnergy Trading, will charter and operate 43 of the 104 LNG vessels.

TCP signing ceremony in Doha; Image Credits: QatarEnergy

“We are very proud to strengthen our collaboration with these shipowners and we have full confidence that the 19 vessels will be operated with the latest and most advanced safety, technical and environmental standards,” said Al-Kaabi. “This is an important undertaking that will enable QatarEnergy to continue delivering cleaner energy to the world safely and reliably.”

A recent update on the fleet expansion program, QatarEnergy signed a series of TCP agreements with Nakilat for the ownership and operation of 25 conventional LNG vessels. Hyundai Heavy Industries is building 17 of the 25 LNG vessels at its shipyards in South Korea and the remaining eight vessels are being constructed by Hanwha Ocean. Nakilat will charter these vessels out to affiliates of QatarEnergy under the 15-year TCP agreements.

The expansion and chartering of its LNG fleet will support the increase of Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 142 mtpa by 2030.

“QatarEnergy has focused its efforts and attention on determining how far west the North Field’s productive layers extend in order to evaluate the production potential from those areas. We have continued geological and engineering studies and have drilled a number of appraisal wells in that area,” said Al-Kaabi. “I am pleased to announce that these efforts have confirmed, through technical tests of the appraisal wells, the extension of the North Field’s productive layers further towards the west, which means the ability to produce significant additional quantities of gas from this new sector.”