Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi (right) with President and CEO of CMES LNG Carrier Investment, Wang Yongxin, at the agreement signing. Pic: Amr Diab / The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: QatarEnergy has signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with four international shipowners for the operation of 19 ultra-modern conventional-size LNG vessels, which comes as part of the second ship-owner tender under the organisation’s historic LNG fleet expansion programme.
The signing ceremony, which took place yesterday at QatarEnergy's headquarters in Doha was attended by Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, H E Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi along with other officials including the President and CEO of CMES LNG Carrier Investment, Wang Yongxin; Chairman of Shandong Marine Energy, Li Maozhong; Managing Executive Officer of K Line, Satoshi Kanamori; Vice-President of Hyundai Glovis, Jungsuk Kim; and President and CEO of MISC Berhad, Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam.
The event witnessed agreements catering 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) in South Korea.
Speaking on the occasion, Al Kaabi said: “Today’s signings form a significant milestone in QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion programme, as it marks the conclusion of the conventional sizes vessels portion of the programme, 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 programme 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 US, 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.”
QatarEnergy has entered into a series of TCP agreements since 2022 for the long-term charter and operation of 104 conventional LNG vessels.
Minister of State for Energy Affairs H E Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, who is also the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, (fourth left, back row), with officials including from CMES LNG Carrier Investment Inc., Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd., MISC Berhad; Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line), and Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd during the agreement signing ceremony for with the international shipowners for the operation of 19 new, ultra-modern conventional size LNG vessels, yesterday.
Among the 104 conventional LNG vessels, 43 ships will be chartered by QatarEnergy’s affiliate ‘QatarEnergy Trading’, Al Kaabi said. This marks the single largest one-step acquisition programme of any single entity in the history of the LNG industry, enabling the company and QatarEnergy Trading to transform into a leading global LNG trader.
“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 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 honoured to express my most sincere thanks and gratitude to H H 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,” the Minister added.
The 19 conventional LNG vessels that were signed during the ceremony have a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres each. They are also equipped with modern LNG shipping technologies, incorporating the entity’s current endeavours to attain optimal fuel efficiency and lessen carbon emissions in the years ahead.
