Qatarenergy awards first batch of LNG shipowner contracts
QatarEnergy on April 12 said it has signed charter agreements with Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) for the operation of four LNG ships. The deal is the first batch of time charter parties awarded under QatarEnergy’s LNG shipping programme.
Concurrent with the signing of the agreements, back-to-back LNG carrier shipbuilding contracts were signed between MOL and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), for the construction of the four new LNG carriers.
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“These contracts mark the start of the construction phase of QatarEnergy’s historic fleet expansion programme in support of our LNG expansion projects. We are pleased to be working with our reliable business partners from China and Japan, namely: MOL, Hudong, and CSSC to take this important step together,” QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.
The signing of the first LNG ship-owner contract marks the successful conclusion of the ship-owner invitation to tender that was launched by QatarEnergy in March 2021 to a large group of LNG ship owners for the chartering of LNG carriers for its future requirements. Other ship-owners that have been selected by QatarEnergy as part of such process will be announced in due course, the company said.
QatarEnergy had earlier entered into an agreement, in April 2020, with Hudong to reserve LNG ship construction capacity in China for its future LNG carrier fleet requirements, including for the North Field expansion projects. The contracts signed today mark the start of the design and construction of the first four new LNG carriers from Hudong, announced in October 2021.